The Marauders and the Philosophers Stone
by jesssixteen
Summary: Title pretty much tells all. The Marauders, Lily, Alice and Frank find Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter books or any of the characters.**

This story begins in the Marauders 7th year at Hogwarts. It was the first day of winter break and they all (minus Peter) sat in the Room of Requirements with Lily, Alice, and Frank. They were practically the only ones left in the school and they were bored out of their minds. Remus and Sirius were playing wizards chess on the couch, Alice and Frank were staring into each others eyes, and Lily and James were sitting in an awkward silence.

Lily and James were finally friends after 6 years of school together. James had finally quit asking her out, it seemed like he had actually grown up. Now Lily was suddenly feeling things for James she didn't think she was supposed to feel. She had finally accepted that fact that she might actually love him the same way he loves her. Having not worked this out yet, they have been awkward near each other. James couldn't take the silence anymore.

"So!" yelled James, "I wonder if Peter is having anymore fun then us."

"I highly doubt so Prongs; he is stuck at home with his sick mother." Replied Remus as he took one of Sirius' knights.

"Ugh! I give up!" Sirius stood up and knocked the game over, "I'm so bored! I cannot spend the entire break like this. We need something to entertain us for days." The room responded immediately and suddenly there was a book lying on the coffee table. Sirius leaped over to look at it.

"Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. Harry Potter? I wonder if this guy is related to you Prongs?"

"I've never heard of him; but I suppose it is a possibility."

Lily grabbed the book from Sirius "Oh a book! Let's read it. Sirius asked the room for entertainment this must be it." The six of them found comfortable spots around the coffee table as Sirius muttered something that sounded like "a book is not what I call entertainment." Lily being the bossiest decided she was going to read first.

**Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived**

**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. **

"Dursley?" Asked Lily, "that's not possible, I'm positive that my sisters boyfriends last name is Dursley. It's not a very common name"

**They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense. **

"That sounds exactly like Petunia."

**Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. **

** "**This is defiantly my sister." Lily said disbelievingly.

"Hey maybe this book is about all of us." Sirius said.

**The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere. **

**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters. **

James jumped up, "The Potters? Bloody Hell do you know what this means? The only way they would care about the Potters is if they actually knew us. So that means I marry Lily!"

Lily blushed and hid behind the book "I guess it's a possibility."

Sirius was now patting James on the back "I always believed in you Jamie my boy."

**Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister,**

"That's awful!" cried Alice.

"Well Mrs. Potter is defiantly me. Things must get even worse between us." Lily said sadly

**because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish** **as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. **

"I bet Harry is our son," James said.

"I have a son?" Lily said in awe.

**This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work, and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair. **

"He sounds horrible," Remus spoke for the first time since they started reading the book.

**None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window. **

**At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls.** "**Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive. **

**It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar — a cat reading a map. **

Sirius jumped up from his seat, "I bet ten galleons that that cat is Minnie! Any takers?"

"I'll take that bet." Frank said pulling out his money.

**For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen — then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive — no, **_**looking **_**at the sign; cats couldn't read maps **_**or **_**signs. **

"Haha so he thinks," James laughed.

**Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day. **

**But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks. **

"Why are they being so indiscrete?" Asked Remus.

**Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes — the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdoes standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together.** **Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt —these people were obviously collecting for something… yes, that would be it. **

"Ha I bet Minnie could turn into a cat in front of him and he would still find excuses not to believeit," Laughed Sirius.

**The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills. **

**Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. **_**He **_**didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead.**

"Something big must have happened." Alice thought aloud.

**Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime. Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more. He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery. **

**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying. **

"**The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard —" **

" — **yes, their son, Harry —" **

"What about our son?" Shrieked Lily. "Why are they talking about Harry? Why are they talking about us?"

"I'm sure it's okay." James reassured.

**Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone,** **and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking… no, he was being stupid.** **Potter wasn't such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew **_**was **_**called Harry. **

"What a great uncle! He doesn't even know his own nephews name?" This time

It was James that was upset.

**He'd never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold. **

"Ewww. James, Lils, don't name your kid either of those." Said Alice

"Don't worry about that." Giggled Lily

**There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her — if **_**he'd **_**had a sister like that… **

"What they bloody hell did that mean? Lily is amazing, beautiful, and smart Petunia is a lucky bi…" James yelled until Lily interrupted him by kissing him. "uh, uhm what was that?"

Lily blushed and shrugged, "you said all those nice things. I guess I just jumped."

"Jump any time you want."

**but all the same, those people in cloaks… **

**He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door. **

"**Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! **

Everyone cheered. Sirius jumped on the couch "Ahem. I knew we would get him, you all weren't so sure, but I knew it. We are way too awesome to be beat."

"Yes Padfoot that is why we won, because of our awesomeness." Remus laughed.

**Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!" **

**And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.**

**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was.**

"Even in all the excitement they shouldn't be so obvious." Lily said.

**He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination. **

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw—and it didn't improve his mood — was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. **

"What cat would be there a whole day? It has to be McGonagall." Sirius pointed out.

**It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes. **

"**Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly.**

**The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look. **

"Well it does sound like her." James said.

**Was this normal cat behavior? Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife. **

**Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter…**

"Tunny has always been far too nosey. I keep telling her it's going to get her into trouble one day."

**and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!"). Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news: **

"_**And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?" **_

"_**Well, Ted," said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early — it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight." **_

**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters…**

"Come on use that tiny brain of yours." Frank said.

**Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er — Petunia, dear — you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"**

**As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister. **

Lily hung her head and sniffled, "I didn't think things would get any worse between us."

"It's not too late to try and change things." Alice tried to comfort her.

"Well actually…" Started Remus,"I've been thinking that we might not remember this. I mean I don't know how we got this book but we can't change the future."

"**No," she said sharply. "Why?" **

"**Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls… shooting stars… and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today…" **

"_**So?**_**" snapped Mrs. Dursley. **

"**Well, I just thought… maybe… it was something to do with… you know… **_**her **_**crowd." **

"Her crowd? Her crowd? What is wrong with us?" Asked Sirius.

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son — he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?" **

"**I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly. **

"**What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?" **

"**Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**

"Hey I like that name!" Lily said.

"**Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree." **

**He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something. **

**Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did… if it got out that they were related to a pair of — well, he didn't think he could bear it. **

"There is nothing wrong with being related to wizards. There is something to be ashamed about those monstrous people though." Sirius said.

**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters **_**were **_**involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind… He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on — he yawned and turned over — it couldn't affect **_**them**_**… **

**How very wrong he was. **

**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**

**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed. **

"Prepare to pay up Frank." Sirius stated smugly.

**Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. **

"Dumbledore!" Everyone shouted.

**He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore. **

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known." **

Sirius was now bouncing up and down, he was ready for Frank to lose the bet."

**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. **

"Well that sounds interesting. I wonder what it is." Puzzled Remus.

**He clicked it again — the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it. **

"**Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall." **

Frank groaned and threw the money at Sirius. "It was a stupid bet anyways." Sirius caught the money and began to count it in front of Frank. Smugness seemed to be radiating off of him.

**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled. "How did you know it was me?" she asked. **

"**My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly." **

"**You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall. **

"**All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here." **

"I don't see Professor McGonagall partying, no matter the occasion." Giggled Alice.

**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily. **

"**Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no — even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." **

"I can't believe they were being so carless." Remus said.

"You-Know-Who is gone you would be bloody celebrating too." Sirius replied.

"I suppose, but I sti…"

"STOP!" Screamed Lily. "I would like to continue reading this book so I can find out what the hell happened to my son!" Everyone got silent so Lily could continue reading the book.

**She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls… shooting stars… Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent — I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense." **

"**You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years." **

Everyone got quiet. "I can't believe it takes eleven years to defeat him." Lily whispered sadly.

"Do you know how many people probably died throughout the entire war?" James asked.

"**I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors." **

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really **_**has **_**gone, Dumbledore?" **

"**It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. **

"Seems?" Asked Remus, "I would like a little more confirmation than _seems_."

"**We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

"**A **_**what**_**?" **

"**A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of." **

"Sounds delicious," James said, "I want some." Suddenly a small bag of lemon drops appeared on the table. "Merlin I love this room." He said as he reached for the bag.

"**No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who **_**has **_**gone —" **

"**My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense — for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: **_**Voldemort**_**."**

Frank and Alice squeaked as Lily read the name. "Lily!" Alice shrieked, "don't say it!"

"Oh don't be so foolish Alice. I don't understand how you can be afraid of a bloody name." Remus said.

**Professor McGonagall flinched, ****but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name." **

**"I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, **_**Voldemort**_**, was frightened of." **

"**You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have." **

"Oh bollocks, Dumbledore is way more powerful than Voldemort." James yelled.

"**Only because you're too — well —**_**noble **_**to use them."**

"**It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs." **

Everyone laughed at that.

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the **_**rumors **_**that are flying around. You know what they're saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?" **

"About what? What stopped him?" Sirius and James shouted at the same time.

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer. **

"**What they're **_**saying**_**," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. **

Lily paused.

"Oh no," Alice said.

**The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are — are — that they're — **_**dead**_**." **

Lily dropped the book, "dead? I...but…" James ran over and hugged Lily trying unsuccessfully to calm her. He couldn't believe it either. Lily dead? How could he have let that happen?

The room was quiet as Lily and Alice cried. Remus and Sirius were in shock, they couldn't imagine their lives without Lily and James. Remus quietly crossed the room and picked up the book. "Lils, I'll read."

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped. **

"**Lily and James… I can't believe it… I didn't want to believe it… Oh, Albus…"**

"Well this confirms it," Sirius said quietly, "It's really you guys, and Minnie sounds sad. She really cares."

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know… I know…" he said heavily. **

**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry. **

"No!" Lily shrieked.

**But he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke — and that's why he's gone." **

"What?" Asked Lily, "He survived? Oh thank Merlin."

**Dumbledore nodded glumly. **

"**It's — it's **_**true**_**?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done… all the people he's killed… he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding… of all the things to stop him… but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

"Yea I'd like to know that to." Remus said obviously confused. He did not like being confused.

"**We can only guess." said Dumbledore. "We may never know." **

**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?" **

"Hagrid!" James spoke for the first time since finding out he would die. "I love that big guy."

"**Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me **_**why **_**you're here, of all places?" **

"**I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now." **

"Only family? What about me? What about Remus?" Yelled Sirius.

"Anyone but them," said Lily, "there are thousands of people I would give him to before Petunia."

"**You don't mean – you **_**can't **_**mean the people who live **_**here**_**?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore — you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son — I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!" **

"**It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter." **

"**A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter?** **hese people will never understand him! He'll be famous — a legend — I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future — there will be books written about Harry — every child in our world will know his name!" **

"I get the chapter title. Harry Potter is the Boy Who Lived. James your son is famous."

"I don't want him to be famous!" Cried Lily, "I want my son to have a normal life, raised by us!" Lily started crying again and James held her tighter.

"**Exactly." said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?" **

"I understand where he is coming from. I just wish he would have given one of us a chance. We could've taken him away and hid from the wizarding world for a while." Said Remus.

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes — yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it. **

"**Hagrid's bringing him." **

"**You think it —**_**wise **_**— to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**

"I would trust Hagrid with my life," James said.

"**I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore. **

"If Dumbledore would trust him then McGonagall should too. I would trust Hagrid with Harrys' and my life." Said Lily.

"**I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to — what was that?" **

"You guys know I love Hagrid but that is kinda true, but I still don't think he would be careless about this." Remus said. Everyone stared at him angrily for a while, until he continued to read again.

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky — and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them. **

Sirius gasped, "Oh….my…Merlin! I so want that."

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so **_**wild **_**— long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.**

"Oh come on he isn't THAT big!" Lily debated.

"Uh, Lils? He is half-giant." Alice stated quietly, she didn't want to offend her friend.

"**Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?" **

"**Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir."**

Almost instantly Sirius was up and running around the room screaming for joy. "Haha, how awesome is that? Even in the future I am the coolest." Remus rolled his eyes and continued to read over Sirius' shrieks.

"**No problems, were there?" **

"**No, sir — house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."**

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**

"Aw, our son is so adorable!" Lily cooed to James.

"He survives Voldemort with just an awesome shaped scare? Your son is tough." Sirius said very impressed.

"**Is that where —?" whispered Professor McGonagall. **

"**Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever." **

"**Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?" **

"**Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground. Well — give him here, Hagrid — we'd better get this over with." **

"I know," agreed Frank, "I have one that looks like an A. It's like its destiny."

"I don't think so," murmured Remus. He adjusted his shirt attempting to hide his scars. He would love to have a scar that was a lightening bolt, or a map, or even letter. His scars were all hideous reminders of his _condition_.

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house. **

"**Could I — could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog. **

"Awww. He's such a sweetie," said Lily

"**Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "You'll wake the Muggles!" **

"**S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it —Lily an' James dead — an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles —" **

"**Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two.**

"The door step?" Screamed James, "he just left _MY_ son on the doorstep?"

**For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out. **

"**Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations." **

"**Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I best get this bike away. G'night, Professor McGonagall — Professor Dumbledore, sir." **

"Yea I'm going to want my bike back." Said Sirius.

"James and Lily are dead and your worrying about your bloody bike?" Remus debated.

"Hey!" Sirius stood up, "I am going to be extremely depressed, and I'm going to want my bike to comfort me."

"That's bollocks."

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night. **

"**I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply. **

**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four. **

"**Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone. **

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley… He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter — the boy who lived!"**

"Dudley better keep his pudgy little fingers away from my son!" Lily Asserted.

"So who wants to read next?" Asked Remus.

"Oh I do! Pick me! I want to!" Sirius jumped on Remus and screamed in his ear.

"If you get the hell off of me, and go sit I will let you read!"

Sirius automatically got off Remus and sat on the couch. Then he calmly and sarcastically asked again. "Remus my good fellow, would it be possible for you to hand me that book. I would like to read aloud the words." Remus rolled his eyes for the thousandth time that day and handed him the book.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Vanishing Glass**

**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets — but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too. **

"That's not unexpected," Said Lily angrily.

**Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day. **

"**Up! Get up! Now!" **

**Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again. **

"**Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**

Sirius stopped reading to yell… "It's not just a dream, Harry!"

**His aunt was back outside the door. **

"**Are you up yet?" she demanded. **

"**Nearly," said Harry. **

"**Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday." **

**Harry groaned. **

"**What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door. **

"**Nothing, nothing…" **

**Dudley's birthday — how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider** **off one of them, put them on. Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept. **

"WHAT?" Everyone screamed.

"She has _my son_ sleeping WHERE!" Shrieked Lily.

"That bitch!" Alice yelled. Everyone turned to look at her, they couldn't believe Alice cussed. "What? It's true."

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike.** **Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise — unless of course it involved punching somebody.**

Sirius growled, "He better not be punching Harry!"

**Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry, but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast**.

"At least he can out run him," Frank said.

**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age. **

"He sounds just like you James," Lily giggled.

"I am not scrawny, and Harry is eleven he'll buff up." James argued.

Remus laughed, "James I don't think either of you stands a chance to buff up. James went to pout in the corner while Sirius continued to read.

**He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. Harry had a thin face, knobby knees, black hair,**

"Told you he would be just like you." Lily said smugly.

**and bright green eyes.**

James smiled and looked at Lily lovingly, "He's got your beautiful eyes." Lily giggled like a little girl and then blushed. How could she be so pathetically girly?

**He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning. He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it. **

"**In the car crash when your parents died," she had said.**

Sirius threw the book across the room, "A car crash? A bloody car crash? He deserves to know the damn truth!"

James picked the book up, "okay, no more reading for you Padfoot."

"**And don't ask questions." **

**Don't ask questions — that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.**

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon. **

"**Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.**

Lily laughed, "As if that will work."

**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way — all over the place. **

"You think he would quit trying," James said.

**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. ** **Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel — Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig. **

They all laughed.

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell. **

"**Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year." **

"Ugh, what a brat!" Scoffed Frank.

"**Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mummy and Daddy." **

"**All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over. **

**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?" **

Lily shook her head, "so that's how they fix problems? They buy him things? He is always going to be a brat."

**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty… thirty…" **

"Good Lord, he's eleven and can't even do basic math?" Remus was astounded.

"**Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.**

"**Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then." **

**Uncle Vernon chuckled. **

"**Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair. **

**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried. **

"**Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him."**

"Figg? Do you think they mean Arabella? She works with the order." Said Sirius it was almost like he was speaking to himself.

**She jerked her head in Harry's direction. **

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned. **

"**Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this. Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again. **

James agreed, "Merlin that sounds awful."

"**We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested. **

"**Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy."**

"The boy?" asked Lily, "He has a name, I gave him a name. Why won't they use it?"

Remus sighed, "I assume they won't use it because they like to believe that he is nothing."

"My son is defiantly not nothing!" James said.

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there — or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug. **

"How horrible," cried Alice.

"**What about what's-her-name, your friend — Yvonne?" **

"**On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia. **

"**You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).**

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon. **

"**And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled. **

"What does she think he is going to do?" James asked.

"**I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening.**

"**I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "… and leave him in the car…" **

"You will NOT leave my son in the car!" Lily shrieked; she was so angry. "I don't think I can hear this anymore, I'm going to want to go and KILL my sister."

James walked over to her and hugged her, "hey, this hasn't happened yet. You can change it, you can change your relationship with your sister."

"**That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone…" **

**Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying — it had been years since he'd really cried — but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted. **

"**Dinky Duddydums, **

Everyone burst out laughing. "Merlin," laughed Sirius, "I can't believe she actually calms him that. That's a horrible name."

"It's not like Dudley is such a great name either." Remus stated.

**don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him. **

"**I… don't… want… him… t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms. **

"Gah!" Yelled James, "What a monster, I would just love to give that kid a kick in the pants!"

**Just then, the doorbell rang — "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically — and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. **P**iers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once. **

**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life. His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

"**I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, "I'm warning you now, boy — any funny business, anything at all — and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas." **

"Oh, funny business? I bet that means magic! Yay!" Lily said.

James laughed, "How could he not be? He has US as parents."

* Cough-Cough* "Cocky much?" *Cough-Cough* coughed Sirius.

"**I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly…" **

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did.**

**The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen. **

**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses.** **Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off. **

James smiled, "Yea that never works, hair stays the same length forever."

**He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly. **

"How do you punish a kid for something that he has no control over?" Lily asked.

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls). **

"No Godson of mine is going to where something that hideous!" Said Sirius.

"Who said you were Godfather?" Lily asked.

Sirius gasped dramatically, "Are you saying that you would not choose me as Godfather for your son?" Sirius sniffled, "That hurts, and it hurts deep down. I mean I was already planning on his first birthday gift. I thought that I would make a gre…"

"Sirius shut up," interrupted Lily, "of course you would be Godfather."

Sirius did a victory lap around the room and ended up in from of Remus. "Ha! In your face Moony! I am Godfather of the famous Harry Potter."

"Sirius shut up! Moony would obviously be Godfather of our next kid, if we don't die I mean." Said James, "Now let me continue."

**The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished. **

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney. **

"I wonder how he did that. Is it possible that he apparated?" Remus asked.

"It is possible that he actually flew." Lily said in a matter-of-fact tone, "children doing magic are known to do things impossible for others."

**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trashcans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump. **

**But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room. **

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles.**

"… **roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them. **

"**I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying." **

Lily cringed, "Oh no, not smart, that is not going to make them happy."

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!" **

**Dudley and Piers sniggered. **

"**I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream." **

**But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon — they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas. **

"A dangerous idea? Like what the 11-year-old boy is going to build his own flying motorcycle? What morons." Sirius said

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop. **

"At least they got him something," said Remus.

**It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond. **

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him. They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first. **

**Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can — but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep. **

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils. **

"**Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge. **

"**Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on. **

"**This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away. **

**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself — no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house. **

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's. **

_**It winked.**_

Automatically Remus knew that Harry, must be a Parselmouth, although he didn't understand how.

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too. **

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly: **

_"__**I get that all the time." **_

"**I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying." **

**The snake nodded vigorously. **

"**Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked. **

**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it. **

**Boa Constrictor, Brazil. **

"**Was it nice there?" **

**The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see — so you've never been to Brazil?"**

"I don't understand why Harry seems to think this is normal," said Lily.

"If I were him I would be freaking out," Sirius admitted.

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!" **

**Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could. **

"**Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. **

"Don't touch my son!" James yelled.

**What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened — one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror. **

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished.**

Sirius laughed, "well that's going to scare some people."

**The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits. **

**As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come… Thanksss, amigo." **

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock. **

" **But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?" **

**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"**.

"Oh no," cried Lily, "Harry is going to be In so much trouble."

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go — cupboard — stay — no meals," before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy. **

"No meals! They can't starve him!" Frank said.

**Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food. **

"You really shouldn't sneak…" Lily started then realized the situation. "Never mind, you

**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead. **

"Blinding green light…" James said slowly.

"Merlin James, your son survived the killing curse." Sirius said.

Lily began to cry, "poor Harry, I can't imagine anyone turning their wand on a baby."

James held her tighter, "Hey it's okay, he made it. He wasn't just a normal baby, somehow he survived."

**This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house. **

**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were his ****only family. **

"I don't understand why Moony, Wormtail, or I didn't come and get him." Said Sirius. "If I knew he was living like this I would never…"

After Sirius trailed off Remus began speaking, " Pads I have a feeling that more happened the night that Lily and James died than we know about. Something must have happened to us."

"Oh I hope you guys are okay." Alice said.

**Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look. **

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated**** that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**

"Alright," James yelled, "I say Frank gets to read next." He threw the book at him and of course Frank missed it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Letters From No One**

Lily shrieked, "He's 11! I bet this is his letter from Hogwarts!" After a few seconds of thinking Lily suddenly got sad. "This is something I should be there for."xx

**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches. **

**Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader. **

"That makes sense," Remus said sarcastically.

**The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favorite sport: Harry Hunting. **

"Ugh!" James sighed, "Can't they just leave the poor kid alone?"

**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school. Dudley thought this was very funny. **

"**They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice?" **

""Harry could make it through public school as long as Dudley wasn't there." Alice said.

"Eh, I don't know Alice, They can be pretty mean to each other." Said Lily.

"**No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it — it might be sick." Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said. **

"Wooh!" Yelled Sirius, "go Harry!"

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's. Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years. **

**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life. **

**As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins, he looked so handsome and grown-up. **

"I bet he looks hideous!" Said Frank.

**Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh. **

**There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water. **

"**What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question. **

"**Your new school uniform," she said. **

**Harry looked in the bowl again. **

"**Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."**

Everyone laughed but Lily, "Oh Harry… that is not going to go over well with her."

"**Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished." **

"NOOOO!" Screamed Sirius, "She is not going to make Harry look like a street rat! Not my Godson!" Everybody stared at him, he hadn't got that upset when they found out Lily and James were dead.

**Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue. He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High — like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably. **

**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table. **

**They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat. **

"**Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper. **

"Like that is going to work. He can't get off his fat lazy bum." James snorted.

"**Make Harry get it." **

"**Get the mail, Harry." **

"**Make Dudley get it." **

"**Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley." **

**Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and — **_**a letter for Harry**_**. **

"Yay!" Squeaked Lily, "I'm happy for him; I just wish that I could be there for it."

**Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives — he didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back. Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake: **

_**Mr. H. Potter**_

_**The Cupboard under the Stairs 4 Privet Drive**_

_**Little Whinging**_

_**Surrey**_

**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp. **

"Why would there be a stamp, it came by owl," Frank said.

"Duh Frank, He doesn't know it came by owl," Alice smacked him lightly.

**Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter **_**H**_**. **

"**Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke. **

**Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope. **

Remus sighed, "He should have hid it in his cupboard, Vernon will take it from him now."

**Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard. **"**Marge's** **ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk…" **

"**Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!" **

**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter,** **which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon. **

"Told you!" Remus said smugly.

"**That's **_**mine**_**!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back. **

"**Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, **

"That's what he was trying to figure out you dolt!" Sirius screamed at the book.

Alice giggled, "you know they can't here you right?"

**shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge. **

"**P-P-Petunia!" he gasped. **

**Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise. **

"**Vernon! Oh my goodness — Vernon!"**

"Oh my Gosh! It's the end of the world!" Lily shrieked sarcastically. "Petunia is the most inconsiderate, pigheaded… ugh!"

**They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick. **

"**I want to read that letter," he said loudly. **

"He can read?" Sirius asked.

"_**I **_**want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's **_**mine**_**." **

"**Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope. **

**Harry didn't move. **

"**I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted.**

"He does have his mothers temper," laughed James.

"**Let **_**me **_**see it!" demanded Dudley. **

"**OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them. **

"Merlin, they told Dudley no!" Sirius was shocked, "I don't think he's ever heard that word before."

**Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry,** **his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor. **

"**Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address — how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?" **

"**Watching — spying — might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.**

"Why in the world would they care about you? Your nothing but a bunch of rude muggles!" Sirius said.

"**But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want —" **

**Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen. **

"**No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer… Yes, that's best… we won't do anything…" **

"**But —" **

"**I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! ****Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"**

"He's an 11 year old? How could he ever be dangerous?" Lily was getting angrier and angrier as they continued to read the book.

**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard. **

"**Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?" **

"**No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. **

"**I have burned it." **

"He can't keep Harry from going to Hogwarts," said James, "He had no right to burn that letter; the git."

"**It was **_**not **_**a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had my**** cupboard on it." **

"**SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling. **

**He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful. **

"**Er — yes, Harry — about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking… you're really getting a bit big for it… we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom. **

"A second bedroom? There is a second bedroom and they made Harry sleep in a cupboard?" Remus said furiously.

"Oh I swear I am going to kill my sister! She is horrible!"James yet again wrapped his arms around Lily, this time it was to calm her.

"**Why?" said Harry. **

"**Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now." **

**The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room. He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbor's dog; in the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favorite program had been canceled; there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it. Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched. **

"I would quit buying him things," Alice said, "If he can't treat an object properly he doesn't deserve it."

**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, "I don't **_**want **_**him in there… I **_**need **_**that room… make him get out…"**

**Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it. **

**Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back. **

"I bet that is the first time a tantrum didn't work." Remus stated. "It's really quite sad."

**Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly. **

**When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get it. They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive —'"**

**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind. After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand. **

"**Go to your cupboard — I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry. "Dudley — go — just go." **

**Harry walked round and round his new room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a plan.**

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights. **

Sirius stood on the coffee table, "Place your bets, place your bets! I bet 2 Galleons

Dursley is already downstairs waiting on the mail. I do believe he is crazy enough!"

**He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first. His heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall toward the front door — **

"**AAAAARRRGH!" **

**Harry leapt into the air; he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat — something **_**alive**_**! **

**Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that the big, squashy something had been his uncle's face. Uncle**** Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do. He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea. Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink. **

"**I want —" he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes. **

**Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot. **

"Obsessive much?" Said Lily.

"They are just going to send someone after him," Remus stated, "he is Harry Potter they would notice if he didn't go."

"**See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't **_**deliver **_**them they'll just give up." **

"**I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon." **

"**Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me," said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him. **

"Okaaaay…" James said slowly, "I think he has officially lost his mind."

**On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom. **

**Uncle Vernon stayed at home again.**

"He really should go to work; he's going to need money to pay for the Loony Bin they stick him in." Laughed Sirius.

**After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked****, and jumped at small noises. **

**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two-dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window. While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor. **

"**Who on earth wants to talk to **_**you **_**this badly?" Dudley asked Harry in amazement.**

James smiled smugly, "every witch and wizard in the world."

"James," said Remus, "You do realize you're talking about your son and not you, right?"

"Yes! I just think that it's amazing that _my…"_ James was interrupted when Lily smacked him. "Yes, okay. I think it is amazing that mine and Lily's son is that famous."

"I wish he wasn't famous." Lily said sadly, "because that means Voldemort would have never came and we would be alive and able to raise our son."

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy. **

"**No post on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspapers, "no damn letters today —" **

**Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one — **

"**Out! OUT!" **

**Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall. When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor. **

"**That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time. "I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!" **

Sirius cracked up laughing, "He is nuttier than a house elf on sugar!"

**He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag. **

**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while. **

"**Shake 'em off… shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.**

**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Dudley was howling. He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer. **

"I don't think Vernon is going to put up with that right now." Frank said.

**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering… **

**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day. They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table. **

"'**Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk." **

**She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address: **

_**Mr. H. Potter**_

_**Room 17**_

_**Railview Hotel**_

_**Cokeworth**_

**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way. The woman stared. **

"**I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room. **

"**Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her.** **Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage. **

"**Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon. Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared. **

"If I were Petunia I would start asking for some answers," Lily declared.

"If you were Petunia you wouldn't be in this position, plus Vernon would be petrified of you." Said Alice

**It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley sniveled. **

"**It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a **_**television**_**." **

"Shut up!" Yelled everyone.

**Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it **_**was **_**Monday — and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days the week, because of television — then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday. **

"Oh it's his birthday?" Cooed Lily.

**Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun — last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks. ** **Still, you weren't eleven every day. **

**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling. **

"Oh no!" Sirius said.

**He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought. **

"**Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!" **

**It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. **

"Sounds like Azkaban," Sirius said.

**Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. One thing was certain, there was no television in there. **

"**Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!" **

**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them. **

"**I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!" **

**It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house. **

**The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms. **

**Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas. He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shriveled up. **

"**Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully.**

**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all. **

"I wouldn't worry, they can still get to him." Said Remus.

**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket. **

"Oh poor baby," cried Lily.

**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger. Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat ****wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now. **

**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did. Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steal one somehow. **

**Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea? **

"Something is coming," James said purposely being eery.

**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds… twenty… ten… nine — maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him **— **three… two… one… **

**BOOM. **

**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.**

Alice grabbed the books out of Franks' hands, "My Turn!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Keeper of the Keys**

"Hagrid!" Cheered Sirius."

**BOOM. They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake. **

"**Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly. **

**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands – now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them. **

"A gun!" Lily shrieked, "You have a gun near my son?"

"Uh, Lils? I don't really know what a gun is but it can't be more dangerous then a wand in the wrong hands."

"Oh. true."

"**Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you — I'm armed!" **

**There was a pause. Then — **

**SMASH! **

**The ****door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor. **

**A giant of a man **

"Geesh, James your son can't tell the difference between a giant and a half-giant?" Sirius said sarcastically.

**was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair. **

**The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all. **

"**Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey…"**

Everyone laughed, who doesn't love Hagrid? None of them knew what he did to get expelled but they knew he didn't deserve it. Hagrid couldn't hurt a faerie.

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear. **

"**Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger. **

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon. **

"**An' here's Harry!" said the giant. **

**Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile. **

"**Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes." Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise. **

"**I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!" **

"**Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant; he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room. **

Lily sighed in relief, "I am so glad that is gone."

**Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on. **

"**Anyway — Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here — I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right." **

"Aww," said Alice, "It is sweet he thought of him, but I certainly hope he didn't eat it." They all cringed at the thought of Hagrids' rock cakes.

**From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with **_**Happy Birthday Harry **_**written on it in green icing. **

**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"**

"Well that was rude," said Remus.

"Hey!" Yelled James, "I'm sure he didn't mean to be rude."

**The giant chuckled. **

"**True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." **

**He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm. **

"**What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind." **

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he'd sunk into a hot bath. **

"It's just like magic," Frank said.

"I love how Hagrid still uses magic even though he isn't suppose to." Sirius stated.

"I'm worried it might get him in trouble," admitted Lily.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Of course you are."

**The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea. **

"You know," started Sirius, "I've swear I've seen him pull a rabbit out of his pocket before."

"Poor bunny," whimpered Alice.

**Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley." **

"I don't think Hagrid was planning on giving him anything." Said James

**The giant chuckled darkly. **

"**Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."**

** He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful, but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are." **

"See Remus!" James yelled, "My son does have manners!"

Remus rolled his eyes, "I never said he didn't Prongs."

**The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. **

"**Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts — yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course. **

"**Er — no," said Harry. **

**Hagrid looked shocked. **

"**Sorry," Harry said quickly. **

"Manners again." James said proudly and smugly at the same time. As usual Remus chose to ignore him.

"_**Sorry**_**?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?" **

"**All what?" asked Harry. **

"Uh Oh," said Frank, "Hagrid is not going to be happy."

"**ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. **"**Now wait jus' one second!" **

**He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall. **

"**Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy — this boy! — knows nothin' abou' — about ANYTHING?"**

"Oh no, Harry isn't going to understand, he will probably think that Hagrid just called him a bloody idiot." Lily said.

**Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad. **

"**I know **_**some **_**things," he said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff." **

**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About **_**our **_**world, I mean. **_**Your **_**world. **_**My **_**world. **_**Yer parents' world**_**." **

"**What world?" **

**Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode. **

"**DURSLEY!" he boomed. **

**Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble." Hagrid stared wildly at Harry. "But yeh must know about yer mom and dad," he said. "I mean, they're **_**famous**_**. You're **_**famous**_**."**

James smiled, "Hey! We're famous Lils."

"We're also _dead_ James, that's what it took for us to be famous."

"**What? My — my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?" **

"**Yeh don' know… yeh don' know…" Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare. **

"**Yeh don' know what yeh **_**are**_**?" he said finally. **

**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice. **

"**Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!"**

"Yea," snorted Sirius, "that's defiantly going to work."

**A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage. **

"**You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?" **

"**Kept **_**what **_**from me?" said Harry eagerly. **

"**STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic. **.

**Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror. **

"**Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry — yer a wizard." **

**There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard. **

"**I'm a **_**what**_**?" gasped Harry. **

"He probably thinks Hagrid is crazy, I assumed the letter was a prank," Lily said.

"When did you realize it wasn't a prank?" Frank asked.

"When Professor McGonagall told me about it, and then turned into a cat." Lily shook her head at the memory, "I think I jumped three feet in the air."

"**A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good 'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? **

Remus and Sirius looked at each other and rolled their eyes. This was going to put James ego through the roof.

**An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter." **

**Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to **_**Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea. **_**He pulled out the letter and read: **

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**_

_**Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE**_

_**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**_

_**Dear Mr. Potter,**_

_**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.**_

_**Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.**_

_**Yours sincerely,**_

_**Minerva McGonagall,**_

_**Deputy Headmistress**_

**Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?" **

"**Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl — a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl**

Sirius jumped up, "Told you there were living things inside that coat."

— **a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down: **

_**Dear Professor Dumbledore,**_

_**Given Harry his letter.**_

_**Taking him to buy his things tomorrow.**_

_**Weather's horrible. Hope you're well.**_

_**Hagrid**_

"Hagrid is such a sweet heart," cooed Alice.

"The man would jump in front of a wand for Dumbledore." Said Remus

**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone. **

**Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly. **

"**Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight. **

"**He's not going," he said. **

**Hagrid grunted. **

"**I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said. **

"**A what?" said Harry, interested. **

"His first wizard word," Lily smiled like he was a baby taking his first steps.

"**A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on." **

"**We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!" **

"**You **_**knew**_**?" said Harry. "You **_**knew **_**I'm a — a wizard?" **

"**Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "**_**Knew**_**! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? **

"Dratted?" Yelled James, "Leave my Lily Flower alone!"

**Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that — that **_**school **_**— and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was — a freak! **

Lily began to sniffle, "Her calling me a freak is always the worst insult I get. Anyone can call me a mudblood, but my own sister thinking I'm a freak… It's horrible."

This time Alice wrapped her arms around Lily, "I don't think you're a freak." Lily smiled weakly.

**But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!" **

**S he stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years. **

"**Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as — as —**_**abnormal **_—

"Well, I don't think I'm abnormal either," James said

**and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!" **

**Harry had gone very white. As soon as he found his voice he said, "Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!" **

"**CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!" **

"**But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently. **

**The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious. **

"**I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh — but someone's gotta — yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'." **

"I hope he tells him," said Remus, "I bet it would be very confusing going to Hogwarts not knowing why everyone was staring at you."

**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys. **

"**Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh — mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it…" **

**He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with — with a person called — but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows —" **

"**Who?" **

"I hope Hagrid tells him his real name," said Sirius, "He shouldn't grow up being unable to say Voldemort." Frank and Alice squeaked yet again when Sirius said the name.

"**Well — I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does." **

"**Why not?" **

"**Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went… bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was…" **

**Hagrid gulped, but no words came out. **

"**Could you write it down?" Harry suggested. **

"**Nah — can't spell it. All right —**_**Voldemort**_**. " **

Remus was shocked, "I have spent the last year trying to get him to say Voldemort. I can't believe Harry got him to say it."

"Why do we need to say it?" Asked Frank.

"Fear of a name is ridiculous," said James, "Be afraid of the person not his name. Come on Frank say it… Voldemort."

Sirius agreed, "If you want to be in the Order you are going to have to get over this fear, say it."

Frank gulped, "Vvv…v…Voldemort. Voldemort. Voldemort! Hey that's actually kind of freeing, Alice say it."

"Ehh, I don't know." Alice whimpered, suddenly they were all watching her. "Oh bugger it… Voldemort."

They all spent the next five minutes saying Voldemort. Somehow it seemed to make him seem less scary.

**Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this — this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too — some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches… terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him — an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogw****arts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway. **

"**Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before… probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side. **

"Or," started James, "He knew he didn't have a shot in Hell getting us to join him."

"**Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em… maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an' — an' —" **

Everyone got quiet, while James stared at the book. "I can't do it, somebody else read… I just… I…"

Remus grabbed the book, nobody wanted to read about their death. Remus didn't want to read about their death either but he figured he would be the only one able to.

**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn. **

"**Sorry," he said. "But it's that ****sad — knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find — anywa… **

"**You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then — an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing — he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. **

"How?" Asked James, "Not that I'm not happy but did a baby survive?"

**Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh — took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even — but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age — the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts **

"Oh no," cried Alice, "I wonder how many of us die? Do we?"

Remus put down the book, "Is that why we didn't get Harry? Because we are all dead?"

"You don't know that," Said Sirius, "I was alive at the beginning of the book, I'm sure you guys are all alive too."

— **an' you was only a baby, an' you lived." **

**Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before — and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life: a high, cold, cruel laugh. **

Everyone shivered. Lily couldn't believe what her son had been through, what he had survived through. She imagined it would only get worse.

**Hagrid was watching him sadly. **

"**Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot…." **

"**Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched. **

"**Now, you listen here, boy," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you,** **probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured **

This time Lily jumped up, "He will not touch a hair on that boys head. I swear to Merlin I will come back from the grave and haunt his ass."

— **and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdoes, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion **

Lily and James' friends began to scream at the book. Sirius couldn't even imagine the world without James, and Lily was pretty cool. Remus thought that the world and his self would be at a huge loss when Lily and James died. Frank was screaming random curse words at the book, and whatever Alice was yelling was jumbled because of her crying.

"Hey!" Yelled James, "HEY! Lily and I are happy that you think so highly of us, but we would like to get back to the book."

— **asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types — just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end -" **

**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley — I'm warning you — one more word…" **

Lily smiled, "Aw, Hagrid loves us too!"

**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent. **

"**That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor. **

**Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them. **

"**But what happened to Vol-, sorry — I mean, You-Know-Who?" **

"I don't want him to be afraid to say Voldemort," said James.

"**Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see… he was gettin' more an' more powerful — why'd he go? **

"**Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back. **

"**Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on — **_**I **_**dunno what it was, no one does **— **but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."**

The room got silent again, until Sirius spoke. "Apparently we celebrated for nothing, he is still alive."

**Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football? **

"**Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard." **

"That's funny," started James, "Because their isn't a doubt in my mind. That boy is a wizard."

**To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled. **

"**Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?" **

**Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it… every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry… chased by Dudley's gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach… dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow back… **

James sighed, "that is the beauty and magic of our hair."

**and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him? **

**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him. **

"**See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard — you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."**

**But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight. **

"**Haven't I told you he's not going?" he hissed. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish — spell books and wands and —" **

"**If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had Albus Dumbled—" **

"**I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon. **

"Uh Oh," Said Remus.

Lily shook her head, "He really shouldn't have said that."

"Hagrid is going to murder him," Sirius laughed.

**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER —" he thundered, "— INSULT — ALBUS — DUMBLEDORE — IN — FRONT — OF — ME!" **

**He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley — there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers. **

Everyone laughed, even Lily and Remus, who don't usually condone using magic in that way.

**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them. **

**Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard. **

"**Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do." **

"Too true," agreed Frank.

**He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows. **

"**Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm — er — not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff — one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job." **

"**Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry. **

"**Oh, well — I was at Hogwarts meself but I — er — got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore." **

"**Why were you expelled?" **

"Well Prongs, your son is going to be as nosy as Lily," laughed Sirius. He only quit laughing after Lily put him in a full body bind.

"**It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that." **

**He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry. **

"**You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' doormice in one o' the pockets."**

"That's the end of chapter 4," Said Remus as he put down the book.

"Why don't we go to bed and continue on the next chapter tomorrow?" Lily asked. As soon as the words came out of her mouth three doors appeared in the room.

Sirius sighed, "I suppose this means I will be sharing a room with Moony?"Sirius had assumed right, Alice and Frank and Lily and James were all ready entering their rooms. "Well Moony, let's hope the room gave us twin beds." With that Sirius and Remus went off to bed.

All six of them discussed the book, they all wondered the same things. Where did it come from? Who sent it? And the most important, could they change the future with this information?


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry it took so long, It's a long chapter and I'm really busy.**

The next morning they all woke up early, except Sirius. James and Remus had to jump on his bed just to get him up. After that they all rushed around trying to get ready; they were eager to continue reading the strange book about the future.

When they were all finally ready Alice picked up the book. "I'm going to begin today."

**Chapter 5: Diagon Alley**

"Oh!"Lily squealed, "Harry is going to love this. I remember my first time to Diagon Alley." She dazed off for a few seconds, "If he didn't believe in magic before he certainly will after this."

James smiled, "I have been going there since I was little, It still seems just as amazing as when I was young."

Sirius was getting impatient, "Yea, yea we all love Diagon Alley. Let Alice read!"

**Harry woke early the next morning. Although he could tell it was daylight, he kept his eyes shut tight. **

_**It was a dream, **_**he told himself firmly. **_**I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard. **_

**There was suddenly a loud tapping noise. **

_**And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door**_**, Harry thought, his heart sinking.**

**But he still didn't open his eyes. It had been such a good dream.**

**Tap. Tap. Tap. **

"**All right," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up." **

**He sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak. **

**Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him. He went straight to the window and jerked it open. **

"It's sad he is so happy over an owl," said Remus

**The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat. **

"He probably wants paid," Frank said.

"**Don't do that." **

**Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat. **

"**Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl —" **

"**Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa. **

"**What?" **

"**He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets." **

**Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing **_**but **_**pockets — bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags… finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins. **

"**Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily. **

"Blimey Hagrid he doesn't know what that is!" Yelled Sirius

"**Knuts?" **

"**The little bronze ones." **

**Harry counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window. **

**Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched. **

"**Best be off, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school." **

"He could have paid the owl instead of making Harry do it," Lily said.

**Harry was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. He had just thought of something that made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him had got a puncture.**

"He doesn't have any money," Remus murmured.

"We had to have left him some money," said Lily.

"If he went to the Dursleys that means my parents are dead and Harry is the only heir left. He's rich!"

"Well you sound sad about your parents," Sirius said sarcastically.

"Pads I didn't mean it that way, you know I love my mum and dad. As you all know they had me later in life, they are getting old."

"**Um — Hagrid?" **

"**Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots. **

"**I haven't got any money — and you heard Uncle Vernon last night… he won't pay for me to go and learn magic." **

"**Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?" **

"**But if their house was destroyed —" **

"Why would he think you kept money in your house?" Asked Alice, "Don't muggles use banks too?"

"Yes," Lily replied, "he probably just didn't think of it, remember he is _only_ eleven."

"**They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold — an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither." **

"**Wizards have **_**banks**_**?" **

"**Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins." **

Lily shivered, "They are always so mean to me. The first time I went they yelled at me."

Sirius gasped, "Lily got yelled at? The world is coming to an end!"

**Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding. **

"_**Goblins**_**?" **

"**Yeah — so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Harry. **

**Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe — 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you — gettin' things from Gringotts — knows he can trust me, see." **

"**Got everythin'? Come on, then." Harry followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm. **

"**How did you get here?" Harry asked, looking around for another boat. **

"**Flew," said Hagrid. **

"_**Flew**_**?" **

"**Yeah — but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh." **

**They settled down in the boat, Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying. **

"Are they leaving the Dursleys without a boat?" Asked Frank, "Not that I care, I was just wondering."

"**Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Harry another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter — er — speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?" **

"Why would Harry tell? He is probably excited over seeing more magic." Lily said.

"**Of course not," said Harry, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land. **

"**Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked. **

"**Spells — enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the high security vaults. **

"Dragons?" Asked Alice.

"Yea, big huge dragons, they guard my families vaults," Sirius answered.

"Vault_**S**_?" Asked Frank.

"Yea there are quite a few, my family doesn't really get rid of stuff. I'm sure there are a lot of dark items down there." Replied Sirius,

**And then yeh gotta find yer way — Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat." **

**Harry sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the **_**Daily Prophet**_**. Harry had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, he'd never had so many questions in his life. **

"**Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page. **

"**There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself. **

"'**Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice." **

"Cornelius Fudge is the Minister, ah buggar, he's going to ruin us," James said.

"Who is Cornelius Fudge," asked Alice.

James took a deep breath before replying, "He is a guy that comes to my parents parties, I've known him forever. He isn't the fastest broom in the broom shed. I don't know how he got the position."

"**But what does a Ministry of Magic **_**do**_**?" **

"**Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."**

"**Why?" **

"_**Why? **_**Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone." **

**At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street. **

**Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Harry couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Harry? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?" **

"He really should be as discrete as possible," said Lily.

"Lily, as Harry just said the man is twice as big as everyone else. He is about as discrete as a mermaid on dry land." Sirius replied.

"**Hagrid," said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "did you say there are **_**dragons **_**at Gringotts?" **

"**Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon." **

"**You'd **_**like **_**one?" **

"**Wanted one ever since I was a kid — here we go." **

"I bet 3 Galleons that Hagrid gets a pet dragon," Sirius yelled.

Remus considered and then replied, "I'll take that bet, even Hagrid wouldn't do something _that_ illegal."

**They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Harry so he could buy their tickets.**

**People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent. **

"**Still got yer letter, Harry?" he asked as he counted stitches. **

**Harry took the parchment envelope out of his pocket. **

"**Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need." **

**Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn't noticed the night before, and read: **

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY **_

_**UNIFORM **_

_**First-year students will require: **_

_**1. Three sets of plain work robes (black) **_

_**2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear **_

_**3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar) **_

_**4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings) **_

_**Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags **_

_**COURSE BOOKS **_

_**All students should have a copy of each of the following: **_

_**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)by Miranda Goshawk **_

_**A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot **_

_**Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling **_

_**A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch **_

_**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore **_

_**Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger **_

_**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander **_

_**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble **_

_**OTHER EQUIPMENT **_

_**1 wand **_

_**1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) **_

_**1 set of glass or crystal phials **_

_**1 telescope set **_

_**1 brass scales **_

_**Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad **_

_**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS **_

"I hate that rule," mumbled James.

Sirius agreed, "people as talented as us should always be allowed a broom."

"**Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud. **

"**If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid. **

**Harry had never been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow. **

"**I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops. **

**Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks? Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up?**

**If Harry hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, he might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, Harry couldn't help trusting him. **

"**This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place." **

**It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Harry wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it.**

"Poor Harry, Hagrid really should explain things better to him. He is only going to get more confused." Lily said.

**Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered him inside. **

**For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?" **

"I bet the room goes silent when they see Harry," said James.

"Do you really think he is that famous?" asked Lily.

"**Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on Harry's shoulder and making Harry's knees buckle. **

"**Good Lord," said ****the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this — can this be —?" **

**The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent. **

James was now giving Lily a smug look. She wanted nothing more than to slap it off of his face; but she decided against it. Was it actually possible that she would one day marry this egotistical, selfish, adorable, funny... Oh maybe it is possible then.

"**Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter… what an honor." **

**He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes. **

"**Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back." **

**Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming. **

**Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.**

"**Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last." **

"**So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud." **

"**Always wanted to shake your hand — I'm all of a flutter." **

"**Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."**

"**I've seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop." **

"**He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? He remembers me!" Harry shook hands again and again — Doris Crockford kept coming back for more. **

"He's going to be known wherever he goes." James said, obviously thinking it was a good thing.  
"That's not necessarily a good thing Prongs." Remus argued.

"Yea," surprisingly Sirius agreed, "It would be hard for him to do a prank without getting caught."

James' excitement seemed to disappear**, **"Poor Harry"

**A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching. **

"**Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts." **

"**P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you." **

"**What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?" **

"**D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it. **

"Ugh that stuttering is annoying," moaned Remus.

"Don't worry Remmy," said Sirius, "He is a DADA teacher he won't be there long."

"**N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought. **

**But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble. **

"**Must get on — lots ter buy. Come on, Harry." **

**Doris Crockford shook Harry's hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds. **

**Hagrid grinned at Harry. **

"**Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh — mind you, he's usually tremblin'." **

"**Is he always that nervous?" **

"**Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience… They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag — never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject — now, where's me umbrella?" **

"Why the bloody hell is he teaching?" Asked Frank.

"If he is afraid of his students he shouldn't be teaching!" Said Lily.

**Vampires? Hags? Harry's head was swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can. **

"**Three up… two across…" he muttered. "Right, stand back, Harry." **

**He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella. **

**The brick he had touched quivered — it wriggled — in the middle, a small hole appeared — it grew wider and wider — a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight. **

"**Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley." **

**He grinned at Harry's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall. **

"Oh!" Lily cried, "I wish we were the ones to take him there for the first time."

**The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons — All Sizes — Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver — Self-Stirring — Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them. **

"**Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first." **

**Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. **

**He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, sixteen Sickles an ounce, they're mad…"**

**A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium — Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand — fastest ever —" **

James jumped up and screamed, "Nimbus Two Thousand? That sounds amazing! I want one!"

"Me too!" Yelled Sirius. And then the conversation turned nothing to nothing but squeals and ramblings.

"Excuse me," Alice said quietly. But they continued to scream, "EXCUSE ME!" They stopped, "I would like to continue."

**There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon… **

"**Gringotts," said Hagrid. **

**They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was — **

"**Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them: **

_**Enter, stranger, but take heed **_

_**Of what awaits the sin of greed, **_

_**For those who take, but do not earn, **_

_**Must pay most dearly in their turn. **_

_**So if you seek beneath our floors **_

_**A treasure that was never yours, **_

_**Thief, you have been warned, beware **_

_**Of finding more than treasure there. **_

"**Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.**

**A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Harry made for the counter. **

"**Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe." **

"**You have his key, sir?" **

"**Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals. **

"**Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key. **

**The goblin looked at it closely. **

"**That seems to be in order." **

"**An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."**

"Oh great! Harry is going to want to know what that's about." Remus said.

"He's going to get himself in trouble." Said Lily.

**The goblin read the letter carefully. **

"**Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"**

**Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall. **

"**What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked. **

"**Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that." **

**Griphook held the door open for them. Harry, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in — Hagrid with some difficulty — and were off. **

**At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. **

**The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering. **

"Why would he steer?" Asked Sirius.

**Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late **

— **they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor. **

"**I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"**

"**Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick." **

"Well that explains it!" Laughed James

Sirius laughed along, "No more questions about that."

**He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling. **

**Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts. **

"That sounds like my parents vault, I wonder if he ever goes to the family vault?" Said James.

"How can you tell the difference?" Asked Frank.

"The family vault has more gold and lots of valuables and objects."

"**All yours," smiled Hagrid. **

**All Harry's — it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London. Hagrid helped Harry pile some of it into a bag. **

"**The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"**

"**One speed only," said Griphook. **

**They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck.**

**Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole. **

"**Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away. **

"Whatever it is, is really really valuable." Said Alice.

"**If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook. **

"**How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked. **

"**About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin. **

**Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harry was sure, and he leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least **— **but at first he thought it was empty. Then he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. **

"It's the Philosophers Stone; whatever that it." Said Remus.

"How do you know that?" Asked Sirius.

"What was the title of the book?" Remus said in a matter of factly tone.

**Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harry longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask. **

"**Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid. **

**One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry didn't know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money. He didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that he was holding more money than he'd had in his whole life — more money than even Dudley had ever had. **

"I'm so happy for him!" giggled Lily.

"**Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so Harry entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous. **

**Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve. **

"**Hogwarts, dear?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here — another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."**

**In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length. **

"**Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?" **

"**Yes," said Harry. **

"**My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. **

**He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow." **

"Ugh! He sounds awful!" Alice said.

"He sounds like a Malfoy!" Groaned Sirius, "I bet it is actually."

**Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley. **

"**Have **_**you **_**got your own broom?" the boy went on. **

"**No," said Harry. **

"**Play Quidditch at all?" **

"**No," Harry said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.**

"Ugh! Someone has to explain it to him! My son has to know what Quidditch is!" James yelled.

Lily comforted him this time.

"_**I **_**do — Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?" **

"**No," said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute. **

"**Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been — imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" **

"Hufflepuff is a lot better than Slytherin!" Said Frank.

"**Mmm," said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting. **

"**I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in. **

"**That's Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts." **

"**Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"**

"Servant!" Asked Remus, "Gah that kid is rude."

"**He's the gamekeeper," said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second. **

"**Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of **_**savage **_— **lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed." **

James and Sirius stood up and started yelling at the book, something along the lines of "Shut up you stupid obnoxious git." There were a lot of curse words thrown in too.

It took a few minutes for Remus and Lily to calm them because they too were pretty angry. Eventually the all got quiet so Alice could continue reading.

"**I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly. **

"_**Do **_**you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?" **

"**They're dead," said Harry shortly. He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy. **

"**Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all. **

"**But they were **_**our **_**kind, weren't they?" **

"What does it matter?" Sirius said still angry, "That kid is defiantly a Malfoy."

"**They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean." **

"**I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?" **

"Well than wizards would die out, stupid moron." James said, "There aren't enough of us left, and no offense but I don't want to marry a relative, eww."

**But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool. **

"**Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy. **

**Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts). **

"**What's up?" said Hagrid. **

"**Nothing," Harry lied. **

**They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?" **

"**Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know — not knowin' about Quidditch!" **

"**Don't make me feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's. **

"— **and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in —" **

"**Yer not **_**from **_**a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh **_**were **_— **he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles — look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!" **

"Too true," said Remus.

"**So what **_**is **_**Quidditch?" **

"**It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like — like soccer in the Muggle world — everyone follows Quidditch — played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls — sorta hard ter explain the rules." **

"It's not hard!" Shrieked James, "Please Hagrid! Please tell my son about Quidditch!"

"**And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?" **

"**School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but —" **

"Ugh! I'm not a duffer!" Yelled Frank.

"**I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Harry gloomily. **

Frank still upset muttered, "There's nothing wrong with Hufflepuff."

"**Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."**

"Harry won't be in Slytherin." Said Lily.

"Even if he was they wouldn't want him there. He brought down their boss." Said Alice

"**Vol-, sorry —You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?" **

"**Years an' years ago," said Hagrid. **

**They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from **_**Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More) **_**by Professor Vindictus Viridian. **

"He is going to be just like me!" Said James smugly.

"**I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley." **

"**I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level." **

**Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry, Harry himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop). **

**Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry's list again. **

"**Just yer wand left — A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present." **

"Awww," said Lily, "That's so sweet of Hagrid, a cake and a present? I bet that Harry hasn't gotten a present before."

**Harry felt himself go red. **

"**You don't have to —" **

"**I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at**— **an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'." **

**Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing. He couldn't stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell. **

"She sounds beautiful," Alice said in awe.

"Geesh, all I have is an old family owl," said Remus.

"**Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now — only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand." **

**A magic wand… this was what Harry had been really looking forward to. **

"It's the one thing every witch and wizard looks forward too," said Frank, "I can remember getting my wand."

**The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. **

**A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. **

**The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic. **

"**Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair. **

**An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop. **

"**Hello," said Harry awkwardly. **

"**Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work." **

Lily took out her wand and looked at it, "I love this wand! It hasn't failed me yet!"

**Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy. **

"**Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it — it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."\**

James too took out his wand, "My wand is awesome, I wanted it the second I saw it."

**Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes. **

"**And that's where…" **

**Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger. **

"**I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands… well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do…" **

**He shook his head and then, to Harry's relief, spotted Hagrid. **

"**Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again… Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?" **

"**It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid. **

"**Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern. **

"**Er — yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly. **

"**But you don't **_**use **_**them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply. **

"**Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke. **

James snorted, "No he never uses it at all."

"**Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now — Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?" **

"**Er — well, I'm right-handed," said Harry. **

"**Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand." **

**Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes. **

"**That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave." **

**Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once. **

"**Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try —" **

**Harry tried — but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander. **

"**No, no — here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."**

**Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become. **

"Goodness, I only tried two wands!" Said Remus.

"**Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere — I wonder, now — yes, why not — unusual combination — holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." **

**Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. **

**He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. **

**Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well… how curious… how very curious…" **

**He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious… curious…" **

Everyone seemed to lean closer to Alice, they all wanted to know what was so 'curious'.

"**Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?" **

**Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare. **

"**I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather — just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother — why, its brother gave you that scar."**

"No way!" Shouted Sirius.

**Harry swallowed. **

"**Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember… I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter… After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great." **

"Okay," said James, "That's weird, I don't think of Voldemort as doing great things."

Remus rolled his eyes, "He meant the amount of magic he is capable of."

**Harry shivered. He wasn't sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop. **

**The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Harry didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; he didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on Harry's lap. Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Harry only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder. **

"**Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said. **

**He bought Harry a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow. **

"**You all right, Harry? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid. **

**Harry wasn't sure he could explain. He'd just had the best birthday of his life — and yet — he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words.**

"**Everyone thinks I'm special," he said at last. **

"You are!" Yelled Lily, "But then again I would think he was special no matter what."

"**All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander… but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry — I mean, the night my parents died." **

**Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile. **

"**Don' you worry, Harry. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts — I did — still do, 'smatter of fact."**

**Hagrid helped Harry on to the train that would take him back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope. **

"**Yer ticket fer Hogwarts, " he said. "First o' September — King's Cross — it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me…. See yeh soon, Harry." **

**The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid had gone.**

Alice squeaked, "I'm just so excited that he's going to Hogwarts, I can't wait to read about it."

"Me too," Lily agreed, "I just wish that Hagrid had explained more things to him. I feel like he is still just so confused."

"Don't worry, he'll catch up," said Remus.

**I'll try to have the next chapter up soon, no guarantees. This week is my dramas' production week and I've been busy nonstop.**


	6. Inbetween Chapters 5 and 6

**So I wanted to add this but I don't think it should be a whole chapter, so it's the little in-between. BTW my spell check hates me and it sometimes puts defiantly instead of defiantly, my computer really sucks.**

Remus stood up to get the book from Alice, "I guess I wi…"

Suddenly there was a loud pop, and three people appeared in the room. Almost instantly every wand in the room was pointed at them.

The three people were shocked, "Where the bloody hell are we?" Asked the red-head.

"RON! What did you do?" Screamed the only girl of the three.

"I swear Mione' I did…"

The third person gasped, "Hermione, Ron, we're in the past!"

Everyone's attention turned to the third person; he looked exactly like James, except for the eyes. This boy was Harry Potter. Slowly everyone lowered their wands

Lily took a step forward, "are you Harry Potter?"

Harry didn't believe what he was seeing. His mum and dad, Sirius and Remus; how was this possible? "Uh… yea, and you're… you're…."

Lily began to cry, "I think I'm your mother." Then the room was full of tears and hugs. After almost 18 years Harry was meeting his parents, it was unreal.

When all had calmed Harry realized something, "How do you know about me?"

Remus picked up the book he had dropped in all the shock and handed it to Harry. "This appeared yesterday."

After flipping through a few pages Harry was amazed. He turned to Ron and Hermione, "guys this book is about our first year at Hogwarts. It's from my point of view."

Hermione grabbed the book, "Harry this is so weird, did you..?"

"No."

"Harry; who are your friends?" Lily asked.

"Oh, you must not be that far in the book. This is Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. They have been my best friends for almost seven years now. They have helped me so much."

Hermione smiled, "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Potter we have heard so much about you."

Lily shuddered, "It's nice to meet you to, but please please call me Lily. _Mrs. Potter_ kind of freaks me out."

"So," said Harry, "did you guys want to read more about my life? I'll read."

"That sounds like a good idea," said Remus, "Let's go sit back down."

As if the room heard him, more couches appeared to make room for the three new people. Harry sat with James and Lily; he still couldn't believe he was with them.

Harry picked up the book, "So what has happened to me so far?"

"You just went to Diagon Alley for the first time," replied Sirius. "Also we all went to kick the Dursleys' asses."

Harry laughed, "Yea you'll think that a lot."


	7. Chapter 6

**So I think I have decided that Harry, Ron, and Hermione have been sent here from about a month after the war ended. Also I'm thinking about bringing Neville in too, It's only fair since his parents are their too. I'm also pretty positive I'm going to bring Ginny in for the second book. I'm not sure though; what do you think?**

**Chapter 6: The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-Quarters**

**Harry's last month with the Dursleys wasn't fun. True, Dudley was now so scared of Harry he wouldn't stay in the same room, while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't shut Harry in his cupboard, force him to do anything, or shout at him — in fact, they didn't speak to him at all. **

**Half terrified, half furious, they acted as though any chair with Harry in it were empty. **

**Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a bit depressing after a while. **

"I must say it is really weird talking about myself like this," said Harry.

**Harry kept to his room, with his new owl for company. He had decided to call her Hedwig, **

Mentioning Hedwig made Harry sad, he missed her. He missed a lot of people actually. He decided that he wasn't going to mention who else dies yet. He certainly wasn't going to tell Alice and Frank that it was almost worse that they were alive.

**a name he had found in **_**A History of Magic**_**. His school books were very interesting. **

Sirius snorted, "Geek."

**He lay on his bed reading late into the night, Hedwig swooping in and out of the open window as she pleased. It was lucky that Aunt Petunia didn't come in to vacuum anymore, because Hedwig kept bringing back dead mice. Every night before he went to sleep, Harry ticked off another day on the piece of paper he had pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first. **

**On the last day of August he thought he'd better speak to his aunt and uncle about getting to King's Cross station the next day, **

"Harry you really should have mentioned that earlier," Lily said.

Harry shrugged, "I was kind of scared."

**so he went down to the living room where they were watching a quiz show on television. He cleared his throat to let them know he was there, and Dudley screamed and ran from the room. **

"**Er — Uncle Vernon?" **

**Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening. **

"**Er — I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to — to go to Hogwarts." **

**Uncle Vernon grunted again. **

"**Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?" **

**Grunt. Harry supposed that meant yes. **

"**Thank you." **

**He was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually spoke. **

"**Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?" **

**Harry didn't say anything. **

"**Where is this school, anyway?" **

"**I don't know," said Harry, realizing this for the first time. He pulled the ticket Hagrid had given him out of his pocket. **

"I don't think anybody really knows," laughed Remus.

"**I just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock," he read. **

**His aunt and uncle stared. **

"**Platform what?" **

"**Nine and three-quarters." **

"**Don't talk rubbish," said Uncle Vernon. "There is no platform nine and three-quarters." **

"Petunia should remember about the platform," said Lily. "Not that I believe she would help you anyways."

"If she knew then she certainly didn't tell me," murmured Harry.

"**It's on my ticket." **

"**Barking," said Uncle Vernon, "howling mad, the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother." **

"**Why are you going to London?" Harry asked, trying to keep things friendly. **

"**Taking Dudley to the hospital," growled Uncle Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings." **

**Harry woke at five o'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep. He got up and pulled on his jeans because he didn't want to walk into the station in his wizard's robes — he'd change on the train. He checked his Hogwarts list yet again to make sure he had everything he needed, saw that Hedwig was shut safely in her cage, and then paced the room, waiting for the Dursleys to get up.**

"That is so sweet," cooed Alice.

Harry blushed, "I was excited."

**Two hours later, Harry's huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the Dursleys' car, Aunt Petunia had talked Dudley into sitting next to Harry, and they had set off. **

**They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped Harry's trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him. Harry thought this was strangely kind until Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face. **

"**Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine — platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?" **

**He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all. **

"**Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile. He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the Dursleys drive away.**

Lily gasped, "How dare them? They just left?"

**All three of them were laughing. Harry's mouth went rather dry. What on earth was he going to do? He was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig. He'd have to ask someone. **

**He stopped a passing guard, but didn't dare mention platform nine and three-quarters. The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when Harry couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed, as though Harry was being stupid on purpose. Getting desperate, Harry asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock, but the guard said there wasn't one. **

**In the end the guard strode away, muttering about time wasters. Harry was now trying hard not to panic. According to the large clock over the arrivals board, he had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and he had no idea how to do it; he was stranded in the middle of a station with a trunk he could hardly lift, a pocket full of wizard money, and a large owl. **

**Hagrid must have forgotten to tell him something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. He wondered if he should get out his wand and start tapping the ticket inspector's stand between platforms nine and ten.**

**At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying. **

"— **packed with Muggles, of course —" **

"Oh thank goodness, I'm so glad there is someone to help you." Said Lily.

Ron smiled knowing that he was about to come into the story.

**Harry swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair. **

"Hey Ron, your about to come into the story." James said.

**Each of them was pushing a trunk like Harry's in front of him — and they had an **_**owl**_**. **

**Heart hammering, Harry pushed his cart after them. They stopped and so did he, just near enough to hear what they were saying. **

"**Now, what's the platform number?" said the boys' mother. **

"**Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, "Mom, can't I go…"**

"Girl?" Sirius asked, "There hasn't been a girl Weasley in several generations."

"Ginny is out youngest sibling, there are seven of us." Ron replied.

"If anyone can take care of seven kids, your mom can." Sirius said.

"**You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first." **

**What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten. **

"I thought that the oldest was Bill," questioned James.

"He is, but at the time of this book he and Charlie had already graduated." Hermione answered for Ron.

**Harry watched, careful not to blink in case he missed it — but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished. **

"**Fred, you next," the plump woman said. **

Ron cringed, he hadn't thought about this. He was going to have to read all about Fred knowing that he is dead.

"**I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you **_**tell **_**I'm George?"**

Sirius stood and cleared his throat, "Twins! I bet 10 galleons that they are hilarious. Those two together are going to be great."

As the older generation (As they will now be referred to) began to talk about the twin and make bets. Harry, Hermione, and Ron thought about poor George who was missing his twin.

Hermione stood up biting her lip, "If you'll excuse us, I think the three of us need to discuss a few things."

Lily shook her head, "No, of course go ahead." They walked into one of the rooms and sat down.

"So," said Harry, "We should probably decide if we are going to tell them anything."

"Well, I was thinking that since this book shows our first year, maybe there will be more. Then they can find out through the books." Hermione said deep in thought.

"Yea mate, I agree with Mione'," Ron said, "So you can't tell them about you and Ginny, or how you defeat Voldemort. That also means we can't mention any deaths Sirius, Remus, Tonks…. Fred.'

"Of course that means you can't mention you and Hermione either." Harry said as they walked back to the main room.

"Sorry about that," Harry murmured, "Now where was I?"

"**Sorry, George, dear." **

"**Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy, and off he went. His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone — but how had he done it? Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier he was almost there — and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere. **

**There was nothing else for it. **

"**Excuse me," Harry said to the plump woman. **

"**Hello, dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too."**

"**Yes," said Harry. "The thing is — the thing is, I don't know how to —" **

"**How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and Harry nodded. **

"**Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron." **

"Ron, your mother is Molly, correct?" Asked Lily. When Ron nodded in response Lily smiled, "she is such an incredibly sweet woman, be sure to thank her for that."

Harry laughed, "I'd hold your thanks until later, because they are going to grow. Molly has done nothing but help me for the last 7 years."

"**Er — okay," said Harry. **

**He pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid. **

**He started to walk toward it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten. Harry walked more quickly. He was going to smash right into that barrier and then he'd be in trouble — leaning forward on his cart, he broke into a heavy run — the barrier was coming nearer and nearer — he wouldn't be able to stop — the cart was out of control — he was a foot away — he closed his eyes ready for the crash — It didn't come… he kept on running… he opened his eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said **_**Hogwarts' Express, eleven o'clock**_**. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words **_**Platform Nine and Three-Quarters **_**on it, He had done it. **

**Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks. **

"I wonder how long until he…I mean you…I mean Harry is noticed? I mean he is famous." Sirius stated.

"I think whichever works, that isn't really me anymore. It was a long time ago." Said Harry

**The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Harry pushed his cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat. He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again." **

"**Oh, **_**Neville**_**," he heard the old woman sigh. **

**A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd. **

"**Give us a look, Lee, go on." **

**The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg. **

**Harry pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He put Hedwig inside first and then started to shove and heave his trunk toward the train door. He tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end and twice he dropped it painfully on his foot. **

"**Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the barrier. **

"How sweet," Alice smiled.

"**Yes, please," Harry panted. **

"**Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!" **

**With the twins' help, Harry's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment. **

"**Thanks," said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes. **

"**What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar. **

"Told you it wouldn't be long," Sirius said smugly.

"Padfoot you have no reason to be smug, of course he was going to be noticed." Remus said rolling his eyes.

"**Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you —?" **

"**He is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Harry. **

"**What?" said Harry. **

"_**Harry Potter**_**." chorused the twins. **

"**Oh, him," said Harry. **

Hermione giggled, "Him? Harry didn't you realize you were him?"

"Yea," Harry replied, "I just wasn't used to being notice. Plus I didn't think I did anything, I didn't understand why I was so famous."

"**I mean, yes, I am." **

**The two boys gawked at him, and Harry felt himself turning red. Then, to his relief, a voice came floating in through the train's open door. **

"**Fred? George? Are you there?" **

"**Coming, Mom." **

**With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped off the train. **

**Harry sat down next to the window where, half hidden, he could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying. **

**Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief. **

"**Ron, you've got something on your nose." **

Hermione muttered something to Ron, Lily didn't quite here but she believed it sounded like 'told you.' Lily could tell that Hermione was probably a lot like her very book smart and by the rules.

**The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose. **

"_**Mom**_— **geroff" He wriggled free. **

"**Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins. **

"**Shut up," said Ron. **

"**Where's Percy?" said their mother. **

"**He's coming now." **

**The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a red and gold badge on his chest with the letter **_**P **_**on it. **

"Prefect?" Lily asked excitedly, "Which one of your siblings is the prefect?"

"Percy was prefect, he also went on to be…Well I'm sure we'll get to that eventually." Ron replied.

"**Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves —" **

"**Oh, are you a **_**prefect**_**, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea." **

"**Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once —" **

"**Or twice —" **

"**A minute —" **

"**All summer —" **

"Gah," Sirius groaned, "that sounds like James when he got head boy! It's all I heard all summer, and I couldn't escape it."

James smacked him on the head, "If it bothered you that much you could have left, theirs always Remus or Peter's house. Plus you know how much of a shock it was, I swore it would be Remus who got it."

"**Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect. **

"**How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins. **

"**Because he's a **_**prefect**_**," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term — send me an owl when you get there." **

**She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins. **

"**Now, you two — this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've — you've blown up a toilet or —"**

"**Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet." **

"**Great idea though, thanks, Mom." **

"It does sound fun." Sirius agreed.

"**It's **_**not funny**_**. And look after Ron." **

"**Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us." **

"**Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it. **

"**Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?" **

**Harry leaned back quickly so they couldn't see him looking. **

"**You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?" **

"**Who?" **

"_**Harry Potter**_**!" **

**Harry heard the little girl's voice. **

"**Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom, eh please…"**

Harry laughed out loud, "Merlin I almost forgot about that."

"I think it's adorable," Lily smiled, "she's got a crush."

"Well she…" Harry started before Hermione interrupted.

"Harry! Don't give anything away," She whispered.

"**You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?" **

"**Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there — like lightning." **

"**Poor **_**dear **_— **no wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform." **

"**Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?" **

**Their mother suddenly became very stern. **

"**I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school." **

Harry gave Lily a look and she sighed, "Your right I like her more and more as we read."

"**All right, keep your hair on." **

**A whistle sounded. **

"**Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry. **

"**Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls." **

"**We'll send you a Hogwarts' toilet seat." **

"_**George!**_"

"**Only joking, Mom." **

**The train began to move. Harry saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved. **

Harry spaced for a moment thinking about the love of his life. It had only been a little while but he missed her already.

**Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what he was going to — but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind. **

**The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest redheaded boy came in. **

"**Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full." **

**Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. Harry saw he still had a black mark on his nose. **

"Thanks mate." Ron grumbled.

"**Hey, Ron." **

**The twins were back. **

"**Listen, we're going down the middle of the train — Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there." **

"**Right," mumbled Ron. **

"**Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. **

**And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then." **

"**Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them. **

"**Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out. **

"Don't know what your talking about, I'm not Harry Potter.' Harry laughed sarcastically. "I drew this scar on my head 'cause I want to be him."

**Harry nodded. **

"**Oh — well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got — you know…" **

**He pointed at Harry's forehead. **

**Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared. **

"**So that's where You-Know-Who —?"**

"**Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it." **

"**Nothing?" said Ron eagerly. **

"**Well — I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else." **

"**Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again. **

"**Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him. **

"**Er — Yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."**

"Accountants are boring." Sirius said.

"It's not that we don't like him it's that he choose a different life and we want to let him keep that life.' Ron said.

"**So you must know loads of magic already." **

**The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about. **

"**I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?" **

"**Horrible — well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers." **

"**Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. **

"**I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left — Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. **

"Gryffindor, right?" James asked seriously.

"It doesn't matter James," Lily argued.

"Yea, Bill and Charlie were both in Gryffindor." Ron replied.

**Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. **

"I think you have a few self-esteem issues." Remus said.

"Yea being the youngest of five boys is tough, I got over it though." Ron whispered.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Ron it took you years to get over it, your just NOW getting over it."

"By the way," Frank said, "How old are you three?"

"Ron and Hermione are 18 and I'll be 18 in two months." Harry replied.

"So you're done with Hogwarts?" Lily asked.

Hermione, Ron and Harry looked at each other, \Harry decided to reply. "It's a long story, you'll see."

**You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat." **

"Aww, I miss Peter," Sirius said.

Harry nearly dropped the book. He forgot all about Scabbers, a.k.a. Wormtail his parent's betrayer. He didn't know how he could continue reading without getting angry. Hermione elbowed him and he grudgingly continued to read.

**Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep.**

"**His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. **

**Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff — I mean, I got Scabbers instead." **

**Ron's ears went pink. **

**He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window. **

**Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. After all, he'd never had any money in his life until a month ago, and he told Ron so, all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer Ron up. **

Hermione hit him, "Really Ronald your happy with his suffering?"

Ron blushed, "No it was just nice to know I wasn't the only one, who didn't get knew things."

"… **and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort —" **

**Ron gasped. **

"**What?" said Harry. **

"_**You said You-Know-Who's name!**_" **said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people —" **

"**I'm not trying to be **_**brave **_**or anything, saying the name," said Harry, "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn… I bet," he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class." **

"**You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough." **

**While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past. **

**Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?" **

**Harry, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to his feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor. **

**He had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry **— **but the woman didn't have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. **

Lily tisked disapprovingly, "Harry that's really unhealthy."

"I swear mum I don't usually eat like that." Harry replied, "I was just excited that I had money for treats."

**Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts. **

**Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat. **

"**Hungry, are you?" **

"**Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty. **

**Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef…" **

"**Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on —" **

"**You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us." **

"**Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry's pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten). **

"That's how you became friends?" Alice asked, "You shared food?" Ron and Harry shrugged.

Sirius laughed, "Hey that's the best way to become friends. That's how Remus became our friend. His mum makes the best fudge in the world."

"**What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs.**

"**They're not **_**really **_**frogs, are they?" He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him. **

"**No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa." **

"**What?" **

"**Oh, of course, you wouldn't know — Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect — famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy." **

**Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore. **

"**So **_**this **_**is Dumbledore!" said Harry. **

"**Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa — thanks —" **

**Harry turned over his card and read: **

_**ALBUS DUMBLEDORE **_

_**CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS **_

_**Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling. **_

**Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared. **

"**He's gone!" **

"Why would he hang around?" Asked James.

"**Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron. **

"**He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her… do you want it? You can start collecting." **

**Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped. "Help yourself," said Harry. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos." **

"I still think that is weird," Sirius said.

"**Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "**_**Weird!" **_

**Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them. Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. He finally tore his eyes away from the Druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. **

"**You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Harry. "When they say every flavor, they **_**mean **_**every flavor — you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger-flavored one once." **

**Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner. **

"**Bleaaargh — see? Sprouts." **

**Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper. **

**The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills. **

**There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Harry had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful. **

"**Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?" **

**When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!" **

Alice giggled, "What a forgetful little boy." The Golden Trio exchanged glances, they were waiting for the book to clarify that it was Neville _Longboteom._

"**He'll turn up," said Harry. **

"**Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him…" **

**He left. **

"**Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk." **

**The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap. **

James snorted, "Sounds like an interesting pet."

"**He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…" **

**He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end. **

"**Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway —" **

"That's not safe, it probably won't work well either." Remus said.

"It didn't work well," corrected Ron.

**He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes. **

"**Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth.**

"HARRY!" Hermione shrieked, "Really? That's your description of me?"

Harry visibly shrunk, "I…I was young? That was never meant to be known. I don't think that now."

Ron began to stroke Hermiones' hair, "don't worry, I've always thought you were beautiful." This calmed Hermione, but it made everyone else stare at them curiously.

Harry cleared his throat loudly, "If I can continue."

"**We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand. **

"**Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." **

**She sat down. Ron looked taken aback. **

"**Er — all right." **

**He cleared his throat. **

"**Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."**

Ron blushed as everyone laughed at him, "I was young!"

Sirius took a breath, "Young or not, it's still hilarious that you believed it was a spell."

**He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep. **

"**Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? **

Hermione bit her lip, "Sorry."

**I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard — I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough — I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" **

Hermione laughed, "My gosh, I remember that, I didn't even take a breath the entire time."

**She said all this very fast. **

**Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either. **

"**I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered. **

"**Harry Potter," said Harry. **

"**Are you really?" said Hermione. **"**I know all about you, of course — I got a few extra books, for background reading, and you're in **_**Modern Magical History **_**and **_**The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts **_**and **_**Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century**_**." **

"You're in books?" Remus asked. He was obviously impressed, Harry nodded.

"You're in even more now." Ron whispered to Harry.

"You are too," Harry whispered back.

"**Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed. **

"**Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; **

"Sounds more like a Ravenclaw to me," said Frank, "Which one were or are you in?"

"You will find out," Hermione replied.

**I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad… Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon." **

**And she left, taking the toadless boy with her. **

"**Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron. **

Hermione looked at Ron, she was obviously heartbroken. "'Mione, Love, you know how it was back then. You know how I was, remember it will change."

**He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell — George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud." **

"**What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry. **

"**Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw **_**would **_**be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin." **

"**That's the house Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?" **

"**Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed. **

"**You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry, trying to take Ron's mind off houses. **

"**So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?" **

**Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school. **

"**Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron. **

"Awesome!" Sirius declared.

"**Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the **_**Daily Prophet**_**, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles — someone tried to rob a high security vault." **

"Someone tried to break into Gringotts?" Alice asked, "They must be crazy."

**Harry stared. **

"**Really? What happened to them?" **

"**Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it." **

"I bet it has to do with the sorcerers' stone." Remus said.

**Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You-Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying "Voldemort" without worrying. **

"**What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked. **

"**Er — I don't know any." Harry confessed.**

James hit his head against the wall, "Harry for the love of Merlin please tell me you have a favorite Quidditch team now."

Harry smiled but didn't reply. He couldn't tell him yet; he wanted his father to be impressed when he finds out about Harry and Quidditch. He would love to hear that his father is proud of him.

"**What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world —" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time. Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once: it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. **

**He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley. **

"I'm telling you, it's a Malfoy," Sirius said smugly.

"**Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?" **

"**Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards. **

"**Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." **

"Haha, I'm right. Now I can officially say he's a stupid little prick. I already know it." Sirius said.

"Aren't you related to the Malfoys?" Asked Lily.

"Ugh, only because my stupid cousin Narcissa had to marry Lucius Malfoy. Actually that is probably their son." Sirius replied.

**Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him. **

"**Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." **

**He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." **

Sirius snorted, "the Weasleys are WAY better than the Malfoys; stupid prat."

**He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it. **

"**I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly. **

"Go Harry," Yelled Lily, surprising everyone.

**Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks. **

"**I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. **

This caused Sirius and Remus to jump up and start screaming at the book.

**They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you." **

**Both Harry and Ron stood up. **

"**Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.**

"**Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered. **

"**Unless you get out now," said Harry, more bravely than he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron. **

"**But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." **

**Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron — Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell. **

**Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle**

"Yay! Go Scabbers," cheered James and Sirius. Harry bit his lip to keep from yelling out. Stupid Peter!

— **Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in. **

"**What **_**has **_**been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail. **

"**I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No — I don't believe it — he's gone back to sleep." **

**And so he had. **

"**You've met Malfoy before?" **

**Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley. **

"**I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?" **

Sirius started muttering to himself. It was all about his evil family and stupid Voldemort.

"**You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"**

"**Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?" **

"**All right — I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. **

"Oh well I guess I was making it awfully hard to be friends," said Hermione quietly.

"**And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"**

Harry laughed, "My God I should have known then."

"Known what?" Asked Frank.

"You'll find out," said Harry.

**Ron glared at her as she left. Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down. **

**He and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his sneakers underneath them. **

**A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." **

**Harry's stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, he saw, looked pale under his freckles. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor. **

**The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?" **

**Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. **

"**C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" **

**Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice. **

"Poor Neville," whispered Hermione.

"**Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here." **

**There was a loud "Oooooh!" **

They all smiled, everyone remembered their first glance at Hogwarts. It was amazing.

**The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. **

"**No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione. **

"**Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then — FORWARD!" **

**And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood. **

"**Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. **

"**Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them. **

"Thank Merlin maybe now they will finally shut up about it," said Sirius.

"**Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. **

**They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. **

"**Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" **

**Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.**

"That's the end." Said Harry, "Who's next?"

"Oh, I want to read," squealed Hermione.


	8. Chapter 7

**Sorry it took so long, I was busy the entire thanksgiving break. Hope you like it, if not don't tell me please my feelings get hurt easily lol**

**Chapter 7: The Sorting Hat**

**The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought was that this was not someone to cross. **

"Minnie!" Sirius cheered.

"**The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid. **

"**Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." **

**She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors. **

**They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right — the rest of the school must already be here — but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously. **

"**Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. **

They all smiled, knowing that they had found their family here at Hogwarts.

**You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. **

"**The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. **

"We've lost a lot of house points." Sirius said as if it was an accomplishment.

"So have we," said Harry.

"Oh Harry you really should behave," Lily said.

"Don't worry Mrs… Lily. I usually keep them in line," Hermione replied, "We just happen to… well you'll just have to find out."

**At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. **

"**The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." **

**Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. **

**Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair. **

"**I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly." **

**She left the chamber. Harry swallowed. **

"**How exactly do they sort us into houses?" he asked Ron. **

"**Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking." **

James laughed, "Yes the hat is just so painful. It practically squeezes your head off."

**Harry's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But he didn't know any magic yet —what on earth would he have to do? He hadn't expected something like this the moment they arrived. **

**He looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else looked terrified, too. No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need. **

Hermione blushed and giggled awkwardly.

**Harry tried hard not to listen to her. He'd never been more nervous, never, not even when he'd had to take a school report home to the Dursleys saying that he'd somehow turned his teacher's wig blue. **.

**He kept his eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead him to his doom.**

Everyone laughed again, this time they were laughing at Harrys' innocence.

**Then something happened that made him jump about a foot in the air — several people behind him screamed. **

"**What the —?" **

**He gasped. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. **

**What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance —" **

"**My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves **

"Don't mess with Peeves!" Cried Sirius, "I love that Poltergeist." The people in the room began looking at him as if he were insane.

**all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?" **

**A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years. **

**Nobody answered. **

"**New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?" **

**A few people nodded mutely. **

"**Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know." **

"**Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." **

**Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall. **

"**Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me." **

**Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Harry got into line behind a boy with sandy hair, with Ron behind him, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. **

**Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard Hermione whisper, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in **_**Hogwarts, A History**_**." **

Before Hermione could blush again Remus spoke, "I'd read all the books before I got to Hogwarts too."

Sirius coughed, "Geek!" He instantly received glares from not only Remus and Hermione but also Ron.

**It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens. **

**Harry quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house. **

_**Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out of it**_**, Harry thought wildly, that seemed the sort of thing **

Hermione, Lily, and Remus laughed as they were the only ones who understood the joke.

"You honestly thought that?" Hermione asked. Instead of answering Harry turned a deep red and hid his face.

— **noticing that everyone in the hall was now staring at the hat, he stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth — and the hat began to sing: **

"Wait," yelled Sirius, "You have to sing it Hermy."

"Oh dear Merlin, I will sing it as long as you NEVER call me that again. Agreed?" Hermione said.

"Agreed." Sirius replied.

"_**Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,**_

_**But don't judge on what you see, **_

_**I'll eat myself if you can find **_

_**A smarter hat than me. **_

_**You can keep your bowlers black, **_

_**Your top hats sleek and tall, **_

_**For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat **_

_**And I can cap them all. **_

_**There's nothing hidden in your head **_

_**The Sorting Hat can't see, **_

_**So try me on and I will tell you **_

_**Where you ought to be. **_

_**You might belong in Gryffindor, **_

_**Where dwell the brave at heart, **_

_**Their daring, nerve, and chivalry **_

_**Set Gryffindors apart; **_

_**You might belong in Hufflepuff, **_

_**Where they are just and loyal, **_

_**Those patient Hufflepuffs are true **_

_**And unafraid of toil; **_

_**Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, **_

_**if you've a ready mind, **_

_**Where those of wit and learning, **_

_**Will always find their kind; **_

_**Or perhaps in Slytherin **_

_**You'll make your real friends, **_

_**Those cunning folk use any means **_

_**To achieve their ends. **_

_**So put me on! Don't be afraid! **_

_**And don't get in a flap! **_

_**You're in safe hands (though I have none) **_

_**For I'm a Thinking Cap!" **_

**The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again. **

"**So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry. "I'll kill Fred, **

Ron gasped, Why in the world did he ever say that?

The older generation gave him a strange look but they didn't say anything.

**he was going on about wrestling a troll." **

**Harry smiled weakly. Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than having to do a spell, but he did wish they could have tried it on without everyone watching. **

**The hat seemed to be asking rather a lot; Harry didn't feel brave or quick-witted or any of it at the moment. **

**If only the hat had mentioned a house for people who felt a bit queasy, that would have been the one for him. **

Hermione smiled, "Don't worry, the exact same thing was going through my mind."

**Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. **

"**When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!" **

**A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause — **

"**HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat. **

**The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her. **

"**Bones, Susan!" **

"**HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah. **

"**Boot, Terry!" **

"**RAVENCLAW!" **

**The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. **

"**Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" **

**became the first new Gryffindor, **

The older generation began cheering, they were so distracted that thankfully they didn't notice Hermiones scowl.

**and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling. **

"**Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, after all he'd heard about Slytherin, but he thought they looked like an unpleasant lot. **

**He was starting to feel definitely sick now. He remembered being picked for teams during gym at his old school. He had always been last to be chosen, not because he was no good, but because no one wanted Dudley to think they liked him. **

"**Finch-Fletchley, Justin!" **

"**HUFFLEPUFF!" **

**Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," **

**the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.**

"**Granger, Hermione!" **

"Good luck Hermione." Said Lily.

**Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.**

"**GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned. **

"I knew it," Remus said, "You are a lot more than brains."

"Actually Remus," started Harry, "She's a lot like you."

**A horrible thought struck Harry, as horrible thoughts always do when you're very nervous. What if he wasn't chosen at all? **

**What if he just sat there with the hat over his eyes for ages, until Professor McGonagall jerked it off his head and said there had obviously been a mistake and he'd better get back on the train? **

**When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. **

The room got silent; Alice and Frank were in a daze.

Lily squealed, "Aly we have kids at the same time."

"I'm… I…We're parents?" Asked Frank. The trio nodded. "I'm a dad."

Like earlier there was a loud pop, and suddenly Neville Longbottom was in the room. "Harry? What the…" After Neville began speaking he noticed who else was in the room. "I…is…Mom? Dad?"

Harry smiled, "Alice, Frank, I would like you to meet your son Neville. Neville your in the past."

If Alice was shocked before it was nothing compared to now. Earlier she was just a regular teenager, now she was not only a parent but her teenage son was right in front of her.

Frank cleared his throat, "Well hello…son." Neville ran to them and hugged them.

When Neville finally let go Alice was crying, "Well with the way you reacted I'm assuming we are dead too?"

Hermione stood up, "Why don't we take a little break why we explain things to Neville. Then he can explain a few things to you."

After thirty minutes and a lot of tears and hugs everybody was filled in on Alice and Franks situation.

"So," said Hermione, "Shall we find out which house Neville will be in?"

**The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. **

**When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," **

Again everyone cheered.

**Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag." **

**Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" **

**Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself. **

**There weren't many people left now. "Moon"…, "Nott"… , "Parkinson"… , then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil"… , then "Perks, Sally-Anne"… , and then, at last — **

"**Potter, Harry!" **

**As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall. **

"_**Potter**_**, did she say?" **

"_**The **_**Harry Potter?" **

**The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited. **

"Oh the suspense," Sirius said sarcastically.

"**Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. **

**Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, A my goodness, yes — and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting… So where shall I put you?"**

Lily snapped, "It's not that hard he's a bloody Gryffindor!" Everyone stared at her for a while until Hermione continued with the book.

**Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, **_**Not Slytherin, not Slytherin**_**. **

"**Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that — no? **

**Well, if you're sure — better be GRYFFINDOR!" **

Everyone cheered, as James breathed a sigh of relief, "I was worried there for a moment…or two."

"Don't worry," Harry replied, "I'm a Gryffindor all the way!"

**Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect got up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" **

"Well I guess they are excited," said Lily.

**Harry sat down opposite the ghost in the ruff he'd seen earlier. The ghost patted his arm, giving Harry the sudden, horrible feeling he'd just plunged it into a bucket of ice-cold water. **

**He could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest him sat Hagrid, who caught his eye and gave him the thumbs up. Harry grinned back. And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. Harry recognized him at once from the card he'd gotten out of the Chocolate Frog on the train. Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. Harry spotted Professor Quirrell, too, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban. **

**And now there were only three people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table. **

"**Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now.**

**Harry crossed his fingers under the table and a second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" **

**Harry clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the chair next to him. **

"Was it really that shocking?" Asked Remus.

"No, I guess not, but F..Fred and George had me all worried." Ron replied.

"**Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley pompously across Harry as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away. **

**Harry looked down at his empty gold plate. He had only just realized how hungry he was. The pumpkin pasties seemed ages ago. **

**Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there. **

"**Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! **

Sirius interrupted Hermione to clap, "What? I'm inspired by those words!"

"**Thank you!" **

**He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Harry didn't know whether to laugh or not. **

"**Is he — a bit mad?" he asked Percy uncertainly. **

"**Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?" **

**Harry's mouth fell open. **

**The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs. **

**The Dursleys had never exactly starved Harry, but he'd never been allowed to eat as much as he liked. Dudley had always taken anything that Harry really wanted, even if It made him sick. Harry piled his plate with a bit of everything except the peppermints and began to eat. It was all delicious. **

"**That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Harry cut up his steak. **

"**Can't you —?" **

"**I haven't eaten for nearly five hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. **

**I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower." **

"**I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you — you're Nearly Headless Nick!" **

"**I would **_**prefer **_**you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy —" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted. **

"_**Nearly **_**Headless? How can you be **_**nearly **_**headless?" **

The Gryffindors flinched; they all knew what was going to happen next.

**Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted. **

"**Like **_**this**_**," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, **

**Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So — new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable — he's the Slytherin ghost." **

**Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. **

**He was right next to Malfoy who, Harry was pleased to see, didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements. **

"**How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest. **

"**I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately. **

**When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding… **

**As Harry helped himself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to their families. **

"**I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mom didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."**

"How horrible!" Lily exclaimed, "She should have warned him."

**The others laughed. **

"**What about you, Neville?" said Ron. **

"**Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages. **

**My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me — he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier **

"He what!" Alice shrieked, "I'm going to murder that st…"

"M..mom let Hermione finish." Said Neville.

**once, I nearly drowned — but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced — all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. **

**And you should have seen their faces when I got in here — they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad." **

"Really he pushed you off a pier and then bought you a toad. What a git." Frank said.

**On Harry's other side, Percy Weasley and Hermione were talking about lessons **

**("I **_**do **_**hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult —"; "You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing — "). **

**Harry, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up at the High Table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin. **

"No!" Shrieked Sirius, "There is no way!"

**It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's turban straight into Harry's eyes — and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Harry's forehead. **

"A sharp pain?" Lily asked concerned.

"**Ouch!" Harry clapped a hand to his head. **

"**What is it?" asked Percy. **

"**N-nothing." **

**The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling Harry had gotten from the teacher's look — a feeling that he didn't like Harry at all. **

"**Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" he asked Percy. **

"**Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. **

"NOOOOOOOO!" Sirius and James screamed; it was like it was the end of the world.

Even Remus couldn't deny that this was horrible, "Why would Dumbledore ever trust him to care for kids?"

Lily shrugged, "He…he would do a gr..great job."

**He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to — everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape." **

**Harry watched Snape for a while, but Snape didn't look at him again. **

**At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent. **

"**Ahem — just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. **

**I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. **

"**First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." **

**Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.**

"I'm sure they spend a lot of time in there," said James.

"I bet we spend more," Sirius replied.

"**I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. **

"**Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. **

"**And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." **

"New rule?" Remus asked.

"Ugh as if we need another rule," whined Sirius.

**Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did. **

"**He's not serious?" **

Before Sirius could speak Harry started, "Sirius don't even try to make that joke."

**he muttered to Percy. **

"**Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere — the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least." **

"**And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" **

"How come we only sing that every few years?" Alice asked.

"I don't know, I wish we would sing it more often," Lily replied.

**cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed. **

**Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words. **

"**Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!" **

**And the school bellowed: **

"_**Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, **_

_**Teach us something please, **_

_**Whether we be old and bald **_

_**Or young with scabby knees, **_

_**Our heads could do with filling **_

_**With some interesting stuff, **_

_**For now they're bare and full of air, **_

_**Dead flies and bits of fluff, **_

_**So teach us things worth knowing, **_

_**Bring back what we've forgot, **_

_**just do your best, we'll do the rest, **_

_**And learn until our brains all rot." **_

**Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest. **

"**Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!" **

**The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Harry's legs were like lead again, but only because he was so tired and full of food. He was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. **

**They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Harry was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt. **

**A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Percy took a step toward them they started throwing themselves at him. **

"**Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves — show yourself." **

**A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered. **

"**Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?" **

"Don't let that mean old ghost hurt Peeves!" Sirius shrieked.

**There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks. **

"**Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!" **

**He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked. **

"**Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy. **

**Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armor as he passed. **

"**You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are." **

**At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress. **

"**Password?" she said. **

"**Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it — Neville needed a leg up — and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.**

"I love that common room!" James exclaimed.

**Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase — they were obviously in one of the towers — they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed. **

"**Great food, isn't it?" Ron muttered to Harry through the hangings. "Get **_**off**_**, Scabbers! He's chewing my sheets." **

Harry shifted awkwardly; he didn't know how much of this he could take. He couldn't just sit there with them not knowing.

**Harry was going to ask Ron if he'd had any of the treacle tart, but he fell asleep almost at once. **

**Perhaps Harry had eaten a bit too much, because he had a very strange dream. He was wearing Professor Quirrell's turban, which kept talking to him, telling him he must transfer to Slytherin at once, because it was his destiny. Harry told the turban he didn't want to be in Slytherin; it got heavier and heavier; he tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully — and there was Malfoy, laughing at him as he struggled with it — then Malfoy turned into the hook-nosed teacher, Snape, whose laugh became high and cold — there was a burst of green light and Harry woke, sweating and shaking. He rolled over and fell asleep again, and when he woke next day, he didn't remember the dream at all.**

Hermione put down the book, "So, who wants to read about the _amazing_ professor Snape?"

"Oh let me!" Sirius said; his grin was turning slightly evil.

Neville took the book, "Why don't I? I have a feeling you would mock more than you would read."


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: The Potions Master**

"He gets his own chapter?" James screamed, "Me and Lily bloody died and we only got a few paragraphs!"

Lily grabbed him gently by the arm and sat him down, "James sweetie, I'm sure the whole chapter isn't about him he…" There was no need for Lily to continue James had calmed the second she grabbed his arm. He was now just staring at her with a love sick look on his face.

"**There, look." **

"**Where?" **

"**Next to the tall kid with the red hair." **

Remus sighed, "welcome to my life Ron."

"Is that how you're treated?" Ron asked.

"Oh yeah. Has someone ever wanted you to ask Harry out for them?'

Ron groaned, "More times than I can count."

"Okay, okay, enough of the sad sad tale of the sidekicks." Sirius said.

"**Wearing the glasses?" **

"**Did you see his face?" **

"**Did you see his scar?" **

"Well that would get annoying," Alice said.

"Ehh I've gotten used to it by now, it's like a faint buzz." Replied Harry.

**Whispers followed Harry from the moment he left his dormitory the next day. People lining up outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at him, or doubled back to pass him in the corridors again, staring. **

**Harry wished they wouldn't, because he was trying to concentrate on finding his way to classes. **

**There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. **

Hermione began to speak, "I've always found the buildings movement quite interesting. It is really great magic, and…"

"'Mione, we've all lived here, we know." Ron said interrupting her.

Hermione blushed, "I know, but it still really interests me."

"Oh I know it's just so fascinating," Started Remus, "I still can't figure out how the magic on this school has lasted so long and…"

Sirius cleared his throat, "Yes, yes this schools amazing, can we get back to the book?" Hermione and Remus blushed but nodded.

**The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Harry was sure the coats of armor could walk. **

**The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class. **

**He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!" **

**Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch. Harry and Ron managed to get on the wrong side of him on their very first morning. **

"I knew it!" Yelled Sirius, "You're gonna take after me and your dad! In trouble already!" Sirius spoke with an astounding amount of pride.

"Well…"Harry hesitated, "Kind of, but… well you'll see."

**Filch found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor. **

**He wouldn't believe they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose, and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons when they were rescued by Professor Quirrell, who was passing. **

**Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris,**

Sirius interrupted again, this time with just an animalistic growl.

**a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp like eyes just like Filch's. She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later. **

**Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Weasley twins) **

"I take offense to that!" Yelled James

Sirius agreed, "yeah we know this school better than Filch."

**and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick. **

**And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words. They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, **

"Oh I love her!" Alice squealed, "Herbology is my favorite."

Neville was in awe, "Mine too!"

**where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for. Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emetic the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up. **

**Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. **

**At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight.**

"He really is a great professor," said Frank.

**Professor McGonagall was again different. Harry had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, **

"Minnie!" Sirius exclaimed, "SHE is a great professor!"

**she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class. **

"**Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned." **

**Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. **

**After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger had made any difference to her match; Professor McGonagall showed the class how it had gone all silver and pointy and gave Hermione a rare smile. **

"I'm guessing you got my Transfiguration skills and not James'?" Lily laughed; Harry nodded in reply.

**The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story. For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went. **

Remus shook his head, "I don't see him being a very good teacher."

**Harry was very relieved to find out that he wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and, like him, hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards. There was so much to learn that even people like Ron didn't have much of a head start. **

**Friday was an important day for Harry and Ron. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once. **

"**What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron as he poured sugar on his porridge. **

"**Double Potions with the Slytherins," said Ron. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them — we'll be able to see if it's true." **

"I bet he does, plus he is just going to hate Harry," Said James.

"Yea, he di…" Harry stopped himself. This was to big to tell them right now. There are too many things they don't know yet.

"**Wish McGonagall favored us," said Harry. **

"McGonagall doesn't play favorites that is what makes her a good teacher," said Hermione.

**Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before. **

**Just then, the mail arrived. Harry had gotten used to this by now, but it had given him a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps. **

**Hedwig hadn't brought Harry anything so far. She sometimes flew in to nibble his ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls. **

**This morning, however, she fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note onto Harry's plate. **

**Harry tore it open at once. It said, in a very untidy scrawl: **

_**Dear Harry, **_

_**I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? **_

_**I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig. **_

_**Hagrid **_

"Oh that is so sweet, you should go visit him," Lily said. It was amazing how quickly she had adapted to being a mother.

"Don't worry," replied Harry, "I visit Hagrid all of the time."

**Harry borrowed Ron's quill, scribbled **_**Yes, please, see you later **_**on the back of the note, and sent Hedwig off again. **

**It was lucky that Harry had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to him so far. **

**At the start-of-term banquet, Harry had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong. Snape didn't dislike Harry — he **_**hated **_**him. **

James grimaced, "It's because of me, I'm sorry. I didn't realize me teasing would affect…well… anyone but him."

**Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls. **

**Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name. **

"**Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new — **_**celebrity**_**." **

**Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels. **

"**You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word — like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort.**

"That's weird all Sirius does is yell when we are near him," said Remus.

"Well he is extremely frightening to 11-year-olds," whispered Neville.

"What are you talking about Neville," laughed Ron, "You've _always_ been afraid of him." Neville blushed.  
Alice rubbed his back, "Well that is defiantly understandable, Severus has always been kinda creepy."

"**As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death **— **if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." **

**More silence followed this little speech. Harry and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead. **

"**Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" **

"How the hell is he supposed to know?" Sirius screamed.

"Isn't he supposed to teach BEFORE asking the questions?" Asked James.

_**Powdered root of what to an infusion of what**_**? Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was; Hermione's hand had shot into the air. **

"**I don't know, sir," said Harry. **

**Snape's lips curled into a sneer. **

"**Tut, tut — fame clearly isn't everything." **

**He ignored Hermione's hand. **

"**Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" **

**Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter. **

"**I don't know, sir." **

"**Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" **

**Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. He had looked through his books at the Dursleys', but did Snape expect him to remember everything in **_**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi**_**? **

**Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand. **

"**What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" **

Lily sighed sadly, "Why does he have to be so mean? He used to be my best friend!"

**At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling.**

"**I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?" **

**A few people laughed; Harry caught Seamus's eye, and Seamus winked. Snape, however, was not pleased. **

"**Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. **

"How rude!" Exclaimed Frank.

"I thought he wanted answers?" Sirius said, "Hermione can obviously give them."

**"For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" **

**There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."**

"What a git! Apparently he never moves on with his life." Sirius said.

**Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like. **

**He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs. **

"**Idiot boy!" **

Alice jumped up, "Excuse me! Nobody calls my son an idiot. Why that stupid asshole. What a git. He's just such a…"

Neville hugged her, "Don't worry it'll all work out eventually."

**snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?" **

**Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose. **

"**Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville. **

"**You — Potter — why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? **

"How the heck can he blame Harry?" asked Remus, "he had nothing to do with it."

**Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor." This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron kicked him behind their cauldron. **

"**Don't push it," he muttered, "I've heard Snape can turn very nasty." **

**As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, Harry's mind was racing and his spirits were low. He'd lost two points for Gryffindor in his very first week **

—_**why **_**did Snape hate him so much? **

James shook his head, he was obviously still upset, "Look I'm so…"

Harry interrupted, "don't worry about it dad, it's not just about you."

"**Cheer up," said Ron, "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?" **

**At five to three they left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door. **

**When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "**_**Back**_**, Fang —**_**back**_**." **

**Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open. **

"**Hang on," he said. "**_**Back**_**, Fang." **

**He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound. **

"You'd think he was a mean dog, he is actually the sweetest dog ever." Lily said.

"A little to much droll for my liking," Ron grimaced, as everyone laughed.

**There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it. **

"**Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked. **

"**This is Ron," Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes**

"Noooo!" Screamed Sirius, "don't eat the rock cake!"

**onto a plate. **

"**Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles. **

"**I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest." **

**The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth, but Harry and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid all about their first lessons. **

**Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and drooled all over his robes. **

**Harry and Ron were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch "that old git." **

"**An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her — Filch puts her up to it." **

"How terrible!" Alice exclaimed, "He should trust Hagrid."

**Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron, told Harry not to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly any of the students. **

"**But he seemed to really **_**hate **_**me." **

"**Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?" **

**Yet Harry couldn't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quite meet his eyes when he said that. **

"Discrete Hagrid, Discrete." Muttered James.

"**How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot — great with animals." **

**Harry wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose. While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, **

"I still can't believe that," said Sirius, "What a bloody awesome job."

**Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cozy. It was a cutting from the **_**Daily Prophet**_**: **

_**GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST **_

_**Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day. **_

"_**But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon. **_

**Harry remembered Ron telling him on the train that someone had tried to rob Gringotts, but Ron hadn't mentioned the date. **

"**Hagrid!" said Harry, "that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!" **

**There was no doubt about it, Hagrid definitely didn't meet Harry's eyes this time. **

"Whoever broke in must have been after the Sorcerers' stone." Said Lily.

"Yea," Remus agreed, "but the question is? What is a Sorcerers' stone?"

**He grunted and offered him another rock cake. Harry read the story again. **_**The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier that same day. **_**Hagrid had emptied vault seven hundred and thirteen, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for? **

"How smart of you," Lily said proudly.

**As Harry and Ron walked back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd been too polite to refuse, Harry thought that none of the lessons he'd had so far had given him as much to think about as tea with Hagrid. Had Hagrid collected that package just in time? Where was it now? And did Hagrid know something about Snape that he didn't want to tell Harry?**

"Do things with Snape ever get better?" Asked James.

"I can't really tell you," said Harry, "We are assuming that there will be more books, so it will be explained later."

James sighed. "It's not just your fault James," said Sirius, "I'm sure it's partly because of me too."

"It's also because of me," said Lily. "I gave up on him, I shouldn't have."

"Well you guys will just have to find out later." Said Ron, "How about James reads the next chapter?"


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: The Midnight Duel**

"Oh Harry, don't get into trouble already!" Lily said.

**Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy. Still, first-year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins, so they didn't have to put up with Malfoy much. **

**Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room that made them all groan. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday — and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together. **

"**Typical," said Harry darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy." **

Harry smiled; he couldn't wait for his dad to read about him flying. He wanted to make him proud and this would defiantly work.

**He had been looking forward to learning to fly more than anything else. **

"**You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," said Ron reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk." **

"Probably," agreed Sirius, "The Malfoys' are all talk and no action, bunch of chickens. I doubt the kids even been on a broomstick."

**Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams **

**and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters. **

**He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang glider on Charlie's old broom. Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly. **

**Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about soccer. Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly. **

**Harry had caught Ron prodding Dean's poster of West Ham soccer team, trying to make the players move.**

"Did that ever work Ron?" Asked Hermione; Ron replied by sticking out his tongue. "Very mature Ron."

**Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one. Privately, Harry felt she'd had good reason, because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground. **

Neville laughed, "Thanks mate."

"Sorry but it is true." Harry shrugged.

**Hermione Granger was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was. **

Hermione shuddered at the thought, "I hate flying!"

Sirius and James gasped eyes open wide.

"Hermione! How could you say such a thing?" Sirius asked.

James continued for him, "Flying is… it's freedom, it's life…it's…it's…"

"Frightening." Said Hermione. She was obviously done with the conversation. She had gotten in several debates about this over the year. She actually had fought with Srius over quidditch before; she had lost.

**This was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book — not that she hadn't tried. At breakfast on Thursday she bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called **_**Quidditch Through the Ages**_**. Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but everybody else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the mail. **

"At least Neville thought it was helpful," muttered Hermione.

**Harry hadn't had a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, of course. Malfoy's eagle owl was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at the Slytherin table. **

**A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke. **

"**It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things — this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red — oh…" His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "… you've forgotten something…" **

"Oh sweetie, a Remembrall?" Asked Alice, "those really don't work that well."

"Believe me I know," replied Neville.

**Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand. **

**Harry and Ron jumped to their feet. They were half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy, but Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash. **

"**What's going on?" **

"**Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor." **

**Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table. **

"**Just looking," he said, and he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him. **

**At three-thirty that afternoon, Harry, Ron, and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. **

James began to jump up and down, "I can't wait! My son flying!"

Lily laughed, "It is sad how excited you are."

**It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance. **

**The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Harry had heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left. **

**Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk. **

"**Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up." **

**Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles. **

"**Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'" **

"**UP" everyone shouted. **

**Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once, but it was one of the few that did. **

"YES!" Screamed Sirius and James.

Remus' eyebrows raised, "What?"

"That means he is a natural," replied Sirius.

**Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid, thought Harry; there was a quaver in Neville's voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground. **

"That's what mine did," said Remus, "I have no interest in flying."

"I thought… You don't fly?" Hermione asked.

"Well I can I just prefer not to." Remus replied.

**Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Harry and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years.**

"Serves him right," Frank said.

"**Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle — three — two —" **

**But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.**

"Oh no!" Alice cried.

"**Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle — twelve feet — twenty feet. Harry saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and — **

**WHAM — a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay facedown on the grass in a heap. **

Alice shrieked, "Oh no, Oh no!"

**His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight. **

**Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his. **

"**Broken wrist," Harry heard her mutter. "Come on, boy — it's all right, up you get." **

**She turned to the rest of the class. **

"**None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear." **

**Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him. **

**No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter. **

"**Did you see his face, the great lump?"**

"Hey! That's my son he's talking about!" Yelled Frank.

**The other Slytherins joined in. **

"**Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil. **

"**Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought **_**you'd **_**like fat little crybabies, Parvati." **

"UGH! What a little jerk!" Lily exclaimed.

"**Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him." **

**The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up. **

"**Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch. **

**Malfoy smiled nastily. **

"I think it's sweet that you're sticking up for him Harry." Alice said, "Thank you."

"**I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find — how about — up a tree?" **

"**Give it **_**here**_**!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying, he **_**could **_**fly well. **

**Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potter!" **

**Harry grabbed his broom. **

"_**No!" **_**shouted Hermione Granger. "Madam Hooch told us not to move — you'll get us all into trouble." **

"Go Harry!" Sirius and James yelled.

"Oh Harry as noble as it is you shouldn't get into trouble." Lily said.

**Harry ignored her. Blood was pounding in his ears. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared; air rushed through his hair, and his robes whipped out behind him — and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he'd found something he could do without being taught — this was easy, this was **_**wonderful**_**. **

James made a noise that resembled a squeal and Sirius looked at him. "Did you just squeal?" James blushed and shook his head.

**He pulled his broomstick up a little to take it even higher, and heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron. **

**He turned his broomstick sharply to face Malfoy in midair. Malfoy looked stunned. **

"**Give it here," Harry called, "or I'll knock you off that broom!" **

"**Oh, yeah?" said Malfoy, trying to sneer, but looking worried. **

**Harry knew, somehow, what to do. He leaned forward and grasped the broom tightly in both hands, and it shot toward Malfoy like a javelin. Malfoy only just got out of the way in time; Harry made a sharp about-face and held the broom steady. A few people below were clapping. **

"Oh my Merlin you are a natural!" James exclaimed, "Your only in the first year?" Harry smiled he was right, his dad was proud.

"**No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," Harry called. **

"Oh good one!" said Sirius.

**The same thought seemed to have struck Malfoy. **

"**Catch it if you can, then!" he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back toward the ground. **

**Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. He leaned forward and pointed his broom handle down — next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball — wind whistled in his ears, mingled with the screams of people watching — he stretched out his hand — a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently onto the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his fist. **

James could no longer speak, his jaw had dropped. His son was awesome!

Harry laughed, "See, I love flying and I love Quidditch. I was the youngest seeker in a century."

"My son the youngest seeker in a century!" James yelled.

"My Merlin Harry how incredible," exclaimed Sirius.

"Harry I too am impressed, but that was a seriously dangerous thing to do," Lily reprimanded.

"No reason to scold Lily that was like 7 years ago," Sirius said.

James cleared his throat, "No Lily is right it was dangerous. And he could have gotten expelled."

"James! You traitor!" Yelled Sirius.

"Hey I have a kid now I have to be responsible, even though that kid is kind of older than me right now." James said obviously confusing himself.

"**HARRY POTTER!" **

**His heart sank faster than he'd just dived. Professor McGonagall was running toward them. **

**He got to his feet, trembling. **

"_**Never **_— **in all my time at Hogwarts —" **

**Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, "— how **_**dare **_**you — might have broken your neck —" **

"**It wasn't his fault, Professor —" **

"**Be quiet, Miss Patil —" **

"**But Malfoy —" **

"**That's **_**enough**_**, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now." **

**Harry caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's triumphant faces as he left, walking numbly in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strode toward the castle. He was going to be expelled, he just knew it. **

Remus smiled, "I bet she is actually impressed with your flying skills. Professor McGonagall loves Quidditch."

**He wanted to say something to defend himself, but there seemed to be something wrong with his voice. Professor McGonagall was sweeping along without even looking at him; he had to jog to keep up. Now he'd done it. He hadn't even lasted two weeks. He'd be packing his bags in ten minutes. What would the Dursleys say when he turned up on the doorstep? **

"Please we've done worse things than that without getting expelled." Sirius said remembering old pranks.

**Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside, and still Professor McGonagall didn't say a word to him. **

**She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Harry trotting miserably behind her. Maybe she was taking him to Dumbledore. He thought of Hagrid, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper. Perhaps he could be Hagrid's assistant. His stomach twisted as he imagined it, watching Ron and the others becoming wizards, while he stumped around the grounds carrying Hagrid's bag. **

"Haha. Harry that sounds so pathetic," Ron laughed.

**Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside. **

"**Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?" **

**Wood? thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him? **

At that Ron lost it, "Haha, you really thought that…Ha! Wood… Aw man I gotta tell Oliver about this!"

**But Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwick's class looking confused. **

"**Follow me, you two," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at Harry. **

"**In here." **

**Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard. **

"**Out, Peeves!" she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two boys. **

"**Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood — I've found you a Seeker." **

"WOW! Seeker in your first year? I still can't believe that!" James said.

**Wood's expression changed from puzzlement to delight. **

"**Are you serious, Professor?" **

"**Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter?" **

**Harry nodded silently. He didn't have a clue what was going on, but he didn't seem to be being expelled, and some of the feeling started coming back to his legs. **

"**He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor McGonagall told Wood. "Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it." **

"Never tell Charlie that, he'll challenge you." Said Ron.

**Wood was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once. **

"**Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter?" he asked excitedly. **

"**Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team," Professor McGonagall explained. **

"**He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. "Light —speedy — we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor — a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say." **

"Oh get the Nimbus it sounds amazing!" James said.

"**I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. **

"I have a feeling he will," said Lily.

**Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. **_**Flattened **_**in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks…" **

"Now I hate Slytherin even more! Snape is in CHARGE of them!" Sirius exclaimed.

**Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Harry. **

"**I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change my mind about punishing you." **

**Then she suddenly smiled. **

"**Your father would have been proud," she said. "He was an excellent Quidditch player himself." **

"Awww how sweet…I know I'm good!" James said smugly.

Lily did a fake cough, "…can't breathe!... James' ego…. choking me!"

"**You're **_**joking**_**." **

**It was dinnertime. Harry had just finished telling Ron what had happened when he'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it. **

"_**Seeker**_**?" he said. "But first years **_**never **_— **you must be the youngest house player in about —" **

" — **a century," said Harry, shoveling pie into his mouth. He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Wood told me." **

**Ron was so amazed, so impressed, he just sat and gaped at Harry. **

"**I start training next week," said Harry. "Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret." **

**Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Harry, and hurried over. **

"**Well done," said George in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team too — Beaters." **

"**I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us." **

"**Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school." **

"I doubt it's new to us." Sirius said smugly.

"**Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you." **

"Eh not bad, but we found it faster," said James.

**Fred and George had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up: Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. **

"**Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?" **

"**You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly. There was of course nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl. **

"Oh come one Harry, tell him about you getting on the team!" Exclaimed Lily, "That would make the obnoxious git shut up!"

Sirius cleared his throat, "Now Lily, are you suggesting that Harry brag to Malfoy? I believe that would be the same thing as James boasting to Snape wouldn't it/ Are you really suggesting that?"

Lily rolled her eyes, "It's…it's obviously different. I mean… Harry's my son and nobody get's to treat him like that!"

"**I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only — no contact. **

**What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?" **

"**Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second, who's yours?" **

**Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up. **

"**Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked." **

Remus groaned, "Don't do it! He's just trying to trap you."

"It's a little late for advice Remus," said Harry, "that was a long time ago."

**When Malfoy had gone, Ron and Harry looked at each other. **

"**What is a wizard's duel?" said Harry. "And what do you mean, you're my second?" **

"**Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually, **

"Ron you make it sound like it's not that big of a deal," Hermione laughed.

"Well come on we were 11 what were the chances of Malfoy killing Harry?" Ron asked.

"It seemed pretty high to me mate," Harry said, "I was expecting the worse."

**getting started at last on his cold pie. Catching the look on Harry's face, he added quickly, "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."**

"**And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?" **

"**Throw it away and punch him on the nose," Ron suggested. **

"Seems like a good plan to me," James joked.

"**Excuse me." **

**They both looked up. It was Hermione Granger. **

"**Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron. **

"Sorry," Ron muttered to Hermione.

"Honestly Ron if you apologize for every mean thing you've done, this is going to take a long time." Hermione said.

**Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry. **

"**I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying —" **

"**Bet you could," Ron muttered.**

"— **and you **_**mustn't **_**go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you." **

"**And it's really none of your business," said Harry. **

"**Good-bye," said Ron. **

"Oh you guys were so mean to poor Hermione," Alice remarked.

Hermione shrugged, "It gets better, honestly. Not to mention I was a little more obnoxious back than."

**All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, Harry thought, as he lay awake much later listening to Dean and Seamus falling asleep (Neville wasn't back from the hospital wing). Ron had spent all evening giving him advice such as "If he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them." **

**There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris, and Harry felt he was pushing his luck, breaking another school rule today. On the other hand, Malfoy's sneering face kept looming up out of the darkness — this was his big chance to beat Malfoy face-to-face. He couldn't miss it. **

"**Half-past eleven," Ron muttered at last, "we'd better go." **

**They pulled on their bathrobes, picked up their wands, and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase, and into the Gryffindor common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into hunched black shadows. They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice spoke from the chair nearest them, "I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry." **

"Listen to Hermione, this is only going to lead to trouble," Remus said.

**A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink bathrobe and a frown. **

"_**You!**_" **said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!" **

"**I almost told your brother," Hermione snapped, "Percy — he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this." **

**Harry couldn't believe anyone could be so interfering. **

"**Come on," he said to Ron. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole. **

**Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose. **

"Hermione, never follow them! I got a detention because James and Sirius got me caught up in their prank. I DON'T get detentions!" Lily yelled.

"I learn my lesson, just wait and see." Hermione replied.

"**Don't you **_**care **_**about Gryffindor, do you **_**only **_**care about yourselves, **_**I **_**don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells." **

"**Go away." **

"**All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so —" **

**But what they were, they didn't find out. Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting. The Fat Lady had gone on a nighttime visit and Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor tower. **

"I hate when that happens!" Sirius yelled, "that woman always leaves the portrait at the worse times!"

"**Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly. **

"**That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we're going to be late." **

**They hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Hermione caught up with them. **

"**I'm coming with you," she said. **

"**You are **_**not**_**." **

"**D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up." **

"**You've got some nerve —" said Ron loudly. **

"**Shut up, both of you!" said Harry sharply. "I heard something." **

**It was a sort of snuffling. **

"**Mrs. Norris?" breathed Ron, squinting through the dark. **

**It wasn't Mrs. Norris. It was Neville. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake as they crept nearer. **

"Are you okay sweetie?" Alice cooed.

"Yea its fine," Neville smiled. He liked that his mom was there for him, his Gran was great but she couldn't make up for his parents.

"**Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed." **

"**Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere." **

"**How's your arm?" said Harry. **

"**Fine," said Neville, showing them. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute." **

"Oh thank Merlin!" Alice cried.

"**Good — well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later —" **

"**Don't leave me!" said Neville, scrambling to his feet, "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already." **

"I hate that ghost," Frank said.

"Doesn't everybody?" Lily asked.

**Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Hermione and Neville. **

"**If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you." **

**Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies, but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward. **

"I did know how, but I wasn't going to tell him. I was afraid Ron would use it on me," Hermione said.

Ron gasped, "I would never!"

**They flitted along corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. At every turn Harry expected to run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, but they were lucky. They sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed toward the trophy room. **

**Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet. **

"I bet they aren't going to come," said James.

"Those slimy gits!" Sirius yelled.

**The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Harry took out his wand in case Malfoy leapt in and started at once. **

**The minutes crept by. **

"**He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered. **

**Then a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when they heard someone speak — and it wasn't Malfoy. **

"**Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner." **

**It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Horror-struck, Harry waved madly at the other three to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped round the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room. **

"**They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding." **

"Those jerks told on them!" Frank exclaimed.

"**This way!" Harry mouthed to the others and, petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armor. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armor. The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle. **

Neville blushed, "Sorry Ron."

"Eh it's okay, long time ago." Ron replied.

"**RUN!" Harry yelled, and the four of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following — they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead, without any idea where they were or where they were going — they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room. **

"**I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering. **

"**I —**_**told **_— **you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I — told — you."**

"It really never matters what you tell them they are going to do it anyways." Lily said.

"**We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible." **

"**Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Harry. "You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you — Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off." **

"What a little weasel!" Sirius yelled. This of course caused the four people from the future to laugh. Sirius had no idea how good that description was.

**Harry thought she was probably right, but he wasn't going to tell her that. **

"I didn't need to be told. I knew I was right," said Hermione.

"**Let's go." **

**It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them. **

**It was Peeves. **

"Oh now you're going to get caught," said Remus.

**He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight. **

"**Shut up, Peeves — please — you'll get us thrown out."**

**Peeves cackled. **

"**Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty." **

"**Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please." **

"**Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know." **

"I hate Peeves," Ron said.

"Sirius is the only person that actually likes Peeves," Alice replied.

"**Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves this was a big mistake. **

"That was stupid Ron, that will only piss him off," said Sirius.

"**STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!" **

**Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door — and it was locked. **

"**This is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!" **

"I was really stupid!" Ron laughed.

"No you were just really young Ron. You would be stupid if you didn't know how to open it now." Hermione replied.

**They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts. **

"**Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. **

"Thank goodness Hermione pays attention in class," Lily said, "You DON"T want to get caught by Filch."

**She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, "**_**Alohomora**_**!" **

**The lock clicked and the door swung open — they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening. **

"**Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me." **

"Oh yay," Sirius jumped up, "nobody likes annoying Filch more than Peeves, not even me. Peeves won't tell him where they went."

"**Say 'please.'" **

"**Don't mess with me, Peeves, now **_**where did they go**_**?" **

"**Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice. **

"**All right —**_**please**_**." **

"**NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" **

"Saw that one coming," Remus muttered.

**And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage. **

"**He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be okay — get **_**off**_**, Neville!" **

**For Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's bathrobe for the last minute. "**_**What**_**?" **

**Harry turned around — and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment, he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare — this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far. **

"This is going to be bad, isn't it?" Lily asked.

"Very bad!" Exclaimed Hermione.

"It's really really bad," Neville squeaked.

**They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden. They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.**

"I knew there had to be a good reason for the third floor to be restricted," Sirius said.

"What the hell is that thing doing in a school," Lily yelled.

"Why did Dumbledore allow that?" Remus asked.

"I bet it's Hagrids' dog," Sirius announced.

**It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant. **

"Run!" James yelled.

**Harry groped for the doorknob — between Filch and death, he'd take Filch. **

**They fell backward — Harry slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew, back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else, because they didn't see him anywhere, but they hardly cared — all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster. They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor. **

"Okay now that they are safe, let's talk," Said Lily.

"About what," James asked.

"That dog has to be there for a reason," Lily replied.

"I think it's guarding the Philosophers stone," Remus announced, he turned to look at Harry. "Am I right?"

Harry shrugged, "You're just going to have to find out. Let's get back to the back."

"**Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at their bathrobes hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces. **

Sirius shook his head, "She's so nosy."

"**Never mind that — pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry, and the portrait swung forward. They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling, into armchairs. **

**It was a while before any of them said anything. Neville, indeed, looked as if he'd never speak again. **

Alice too looked like she would never speak again. She couldn't believe her poor son was that close to something so monstrous. Frank held her close and tried to reassure her that everything was okay.

"Uh mom?" Neville asked, "well see this is only the beginning. Things are… well worse things than that will happen." Alice squeaked in response.

"**What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does." **

**Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again. "You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?" **

"Well it seems like Remus is right again," said Sirius.

"**The floor?" Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads." **

"Harry, people like Hermione, Lily and Remus they don't see things like we do." Sirius explained.

"We actually use our brains," Hermione whispered to Remus.

"I heard that Hermione!" Harry said, "I use my head all the time thank you."

"**No, **_**not **_**the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something." **

**She stood up, glaring at them. **

"**I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed — or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."**

"Really Hermione?" James asked, "Being expelled is worse than being killed?"

Hermione blushed, "No I don't think that, I was just being dramatic."

**Ron stared after her, his mouth open. **

"**No, we don't mind," he said. "You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you." **

**But Hermione had given Harry something else to think about as he climbed back into bed. The dog was guarding something… What had Hagrid said? Gringotts was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide — except perhaps Hogwarts. **

**It looked as though Harry had found out where the grubby little package from vault seven hundred and thirteen was.**

` "You get that from your mom," Remus said, "James would have never made that connection."

"Oi!" James yelled, "I would have… I would… no you're right I wouldn't have made the connection. I would just do everything I could do to get past that damn dog."

"Oh I want to read next!" Yelled Sirius.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Halloween**

"I love Halloween!" James yelled. Harry began thinking about all the bad things that had happened on Halloween. James certainly wouldn't like Halloween if he knew.

**Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful. **

"Oh poor guys evil plan failed," Frank said sarcastically.

**Indeed, by the next morning Harry and Ron thought that meeting the three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure, and they were quite keen to have another one. **

Lily sighed, "Really? You are so much like your father."

**In the meantime, Harry filled Ron in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection. **

"**It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron.**

"**Or both," said Harry.**

"I'm really curious as to what the Philosophers stone is," Remus said.

"I know, it must be really powerful." Said Sirius.

**But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues. **

**Neither Neville nor Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor. **

**All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again. **

"Oh thank goodness, Never go near that dog again!" Alice said.

**Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus. **

Hermione coughed, "Ehm well…"

"Hermione really I'm so so…" started Harry.

"It's okay Harry, I'll be fine. Really!" Hermione replied unconvincingly.

**All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy, **

"Harry, please don't! You'll just get yourself into trouble." Lily pleaded.

**and to their great delight, just such a thing arrived in the mail about a week later. **

**As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by a long, thin package carried by six large screech owls. Harry was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel, **

"Really?" Hermione asked, "You were confused as to what was in the very obvious broom shaped parcel?"

"Hey! I was young!" Argued Harry.

"Sorry son I have to agree with Hermione," James said, "A broom is pretty easy to spot when it is wrapped."

"Well maybe I was just having a dumb day," Harry said.

Ron laughed, "I think everyday was a dumb day for us."

**and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of him, knocking his bacon to the floor. **

**They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel. **

**Harry ripped open the letter first, which was lucky, because it said: **

_**DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE. **_

_**It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, **_

__James and Sirius screamed.

"I can't believe Minnie got you the NEWEST broom!" Yelled Sirius.

"Is it amazing? I bet it's really fast!" James said.

"Well… you'll just have to find out," said Harry.

_**but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session. **_

_**Professor McGonagall **_

**Harry had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Ron to read. **

"**A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even **_**touched **_**one." **

**They left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first class, but halfway across the entrance hall they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy seized the package from Harry and felt it.**

"**That's a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them." **

"I can't wait for that annoying little boy to find out that Harry is on the Quidditch team!" Giggled Alice.

**Ron couldn't resist it. **

"**It's not any old broomstick," he said, "it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" **

**Ron grinned at Harry. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus." **

"**What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Malfoy snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig." **

"What a git!" Sirius yelled.

**Before Ron could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow. **

"**Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he squeaked. **

"**Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy quickly. **

"Does he realize that tattling just makes him seem like a loser?" Frank asked.

"He doesn't care he just wants to get them in trouble," Remus replied.

"**Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?" **

"**A Nimbus Two Thousand, it is," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face. "And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it," he added. **

Sirius laughed, "Great job Harry, I'm proud to call you my God son."

**Harry and Ron headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Malfoy's obvious rage and confusion. **

"**Well, it's true," Harry chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase, "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouldn't be on the team…" **

"**So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?" came an angry voice from just behind them. Hermione was stomping up the stairs, looking disapprovingly at the package in Harry's hand. **

"Geesh Hermione, Harry stands up for me and you mad?" Neville said.

"I actually thought it was very sweet of him, I just couldn't let him know that. I had to stick with my rules are the best theory." Hermione replied.

"**I thought you weren't speaking to us?" said Harry. **

"**Yes, don't stop now," said Ron, "it's doing us so much good." **

**Hermione marched away with her nose in the air. **

**Harry had a lot of trouble keeping his mind on his lessons that day. It kept wandering up to the dormitory where his new broomstick was lying under his bed, or straying off to the Quidditch field where he'd be learning to play that night. **

James faked tears, "That's my son."

**He bolted his dinner that evening without noticing what he was eating, and then rushed upstairs with Ron to unwrap the Nimbus Two Thousand at last. **

"**Wow," Ron sighed, as the broomstick rolled onto Harry's bedspread. **

**Even Harry, who knew nothing about the different brooms, thought it looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top. **

Sirius shook his head, "Unfair, I would love a broom like that."

**As seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry left the castle and set off in the dusk toward the Quidditch field. Held never been inside the stadium before. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the field so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end of the field were three golden poles with hoops on the end. They reminded Harry of the little plastic sticks Muggle children blew bubbles through, except that they were fifty feet high. **

**Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, Harry mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling — he swooped in and out of the goal posts and then sped up and down the field. The Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch. **

"**Hey, Potter, come down!" **

**Oliver Wood had arrived. He was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. Harry landed next to him. **

"**Very nice," said Wood, his eyes glinting. "I see what McGonagall meant… you really are a natural. I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week." **

**He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls. **

"**Right," said Wood. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers." **

James jumped up, "That's me! I'm a chaser!"

"**Three Chasers," Harry repeated, as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a soccer ball. **

"**This ball's called the Quaffle," said Wood. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?" **

"**The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score," Harry recited. "So — that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn't it?" **

"What's basket ball?" Alice asked.

"It's a muggle game, it kind of resembles Quidditch but it's not on broomsticks and there is only one hoop." Lily exclaimed.

"It sounds boring," Ron said.

"**What's basketball?" said Wood curiously. **

"**Never mind," said Harry quickly. **

"**Now, there's another player on each side who's called the Keeper — I'm Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other team from scoring." **

"**Three Chasers, one Keeper," said Harry, who was determined to remember it all. "And they play with the Quaffle. Okay, got that. So what are they for?" He pointed at the three balls left inside the box. **

"**I'll show you now," said Wood. "Take this." **

**He handed Harry a small club, a bit like a short baseball bat. **

"**I'm going to show you what the Bludgers do," Wood said. "These two are the Bludgers." **

"I hate Bludgers!" Lily cried, "They are so dangerous, and it scares me because they're always going after Ja….."

"You worry about me?" James asked. He had a goofy grin on his face.

"Of course, you git." Lily replied shyly.

Harry smiled, he was happy that he could finally understand his parents relationship a little better. He used to wonder how his mom went from hating him to loving him. It seemed like it just took time.

**He showed Harry two identical balls, jet black and slightly smaller than the red Quaffle. Harry noticed that they seemed to be straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box. **

"**Stand back," Wood warned Harry. He bent down and freed one of the Bludgers. **

**At once, the black ball rose high in the air and then pelted straight at Harry's face. Harry swung at it with the bat to stop it from breaking his nose, and sent it zigzagging away into the air — it zoomed around their heads and then shot at Wood, who dived on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground. **

"**See?" Wood panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into the crate and strapping it down safely. "The Bludgers rocket around, trying to knock players off their brooms. That's why you have two Beaters on each team — the Weasley twins are ours — it's their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them toward the other team. So — think you've got all that?" **

"**Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goal posts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team," Harry reeled off. **

"**Very good," said Wood. **

"**Er — have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?" Harry asked, hoping he sounded offhand. **

"**Never at Hogwarts. We've had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse than that. **

"I admit Quidditch can get pretty dangerous, I've broken a rib, and a couple fingers." James said.

"I've sprained my wrist." Sirius said.

"I beat you both." Harry replied.

"What!" Screamed Lily, "I hate that stupid sport! It's dangerous, and…and…and stupid."

Harry laughed, "It's okay, I've survived."

**Now, the last member of the team is the Seeker. That's you. And you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers —" **

"— **unless they crack my head open." **

"**Don't worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers — I mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves." **

**Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball. Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver wings. **

"_**This**_**," said Wood, "is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win. **

**That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages — I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep. **

"How could you play ANY game for three months straight?" Remus asked, "That would be horrible!"

"I love Quidditch but I couldn't play it for three months." Ron said.

"**Well, that's it any questions?" **

**Harry shook his head. He understood what he had to do all right, it was doing it that was going to be the problem. **

"You won't have any problems," Lily said, "Your just like your father."

"**We won't practice with the Snitch yet," said Wood, carefully shutting it back inside the crate, "it's too dark, we might lose it. Let's try you out with a few of these." **

**He pulled a bag of ordinary golf balls out of his pocket and a few minutes later, he and Harry were up in the air, Wood throwing the golf balls as hard as he could in every direction for Harry to catch. **

**Harry didn't miss a single one, and Wood was delighted. After half an hour, night had really fallen and they couldn't carry on. **

"**That Quidditch Cup'll have our name on it this year," said Wood happily as they trudged back up to the castle. "I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons." **

**Perhaps it was because he was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all his homework, but Harry could hardly believe it when he realized that he'd already been at Hogwarts two months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive ever had. **

"Hogwarts has that effect on people, believe me. Grimmauld place has never been home to me," Sirius said.

**His lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics.**

**On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom. **

**Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan (which was a relief, because Neville had been trying to catch his eye). **

Neville blushed, "I was, I figured you might know what you were doing."

"I didn't," Harry admitted.

**Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. **

**It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this. She hadn't spoken to either of them since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived.**

"**Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor**

**Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too — never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."**

"Did you know that Flitwick made up that story?" Remus asked the room.

"WHAT!" Sirius screamed. "I have based everything off of that story!"

"It's still very important to speak properly," Lily said, "Spells can go horrible wrong if you don't."

**It was very difficult. Harry and Seamus swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skyward just lay on the desktop. Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it — Harry had to put it out with his hat.**

Ron laughed, "Remind me to make fun of him for that later."

**Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck.**

"**Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.**

"Oi!" Yelled Ron, "I was not waving my arms around."

"**You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."**

"I don't see Ron taking to well to being corrected," said Frank.

"**You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.**

**Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"**

**Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.**

"**Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!"**

**Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of the class.**

"I still don't understand why you got so upset Ronald." Hermione said.

Ron turned to look at her, "Well Hermione if you weren't such a bloody show…"

Harry interrupted before a full blown argument began, "Hey! It was seven years ago! In case you've forgotten you're over it."

"**It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly."**

Ron put his head in his hands; he was muttering something nobody could here.

**Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. Harry caught a glimpse of her face — and was startled to see that she was in tears.**

"Oh how awful!" cried Alice.

Lily shook her head, "Ron what would your mother have said."

Ron lifted his head, "Mum would have been so angry."

"**I think she heard you."**

"**So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends."**

Hermione cringed and stopped patting Ron's back.

"Well Lily you can't call me cruel anymore," said James, "I think Ron has me beat."

**Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone. Ron looked still more awkward at this, but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione out of their minds.**

**A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.**

**Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Troll — in the dungeons — thought you ought to know."**

Remus shook his head, "That's not possible; a troll can't just wander into the school."

"Someone must have brought it in," Lily said.

"Why would someone do that?" Sirius asked, "I wouldn't even do that as a prank."

James looked deep in thought, "A distraction," he said, "Someone is trying to get past that dog."

They all stared at James in amazement. "They must really want that stone," said Frank.

**He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.**

"Wuss," Sirius coughed.

**There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.**

"**Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"**

**Percy was in his element.**

"**Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!"**

"I don't want to upset you but your brother is kind of a git." Sirius said.

Ron opened his mouth to speak. He wanted to explain, to defend Percy. He has changed since the war…since Fred. Ron knew that if he spoke he would give it all away, so he looked to Harry hoping he would take the hint.

Fortunately Harry did, "Ron understands, Percy...He means well. You'll just have to wait and see."

"**How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs.**

"**Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke."**

**They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry suddenly grabbed Ron's arm.**

"**I've just thought — Hermione."**

The whole room gasped, suddenly remembering the 11-year-old Hermione who had locked herself in the bathroom.

"**What about her?"**

"**She doesn't know about the troll."**

**Ron bit his lip.**

"**Oh, all right," he snapped. "But Percy'd better not see us."**

"Oh I don't know if I like this," Lily said. "It's really sweet, but…. a troll?"

**Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.**

"**Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry behind a large stone griffin.**

**Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.**

"What's that git doing?" James asked.

"**What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"**

"**Search me."**

**Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps.**

"**He's heading for the third floor," Harry said, but Ron held up his hand.**

"**Can you smell something?"**

**Harry sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean.**

"Troll," said Neville.

Lily cringed, she obviously knew that they would be okay but she still didn't want them to get hurt.

**And then they heard it — a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed — at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving toward them. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight.**

**It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.**

**The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.**

"**The keys in the lock," Harry muttered. "We could lock it in."**

"**Good idea," said Ron nervously.**

**They edged toward the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn't about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door, and lock it.**

"**Yes!"**

**Flushed with their victory, they started to run back up the passage, but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop — a high, petrified scream — and it was coming from the chamber they'd just chained up.**

"**Oh, no," said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.**

"**It's the girls' bathroom!" Harry gasped.**

"Idiots," coughed Neville.

"Hey," yelled Harry and Ron.

"**Hermione!" they said together.**

**It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they have? **

Alice smiled, "How brave."

**Wheeling around, they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic. Harry pulled the door open and they ran inside.**

**Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went. **

"I was not about to faint," Hermione said attempting to defend herself.

"**Confuse it!" Harry said desperately to Ron, and, seizing a tap, he threw it as hard as he could against the wall.**

**The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went.**

Lily squeaked and flinched.

"**Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout toward Ron instead, giving Harry time to run around it.**

"**Come on, run, run!" Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her toward the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror.**

**The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started toward Ron, who was nearest and had no way to then did something that was both very brave and very stupid: He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind. The troll couldn't feel Harry hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its nose, and Harry's wand had still been in his hand when he'd jumped – it had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils.**

**Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club.**

**Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright; Ron pulled out his own wand — not knowing what he was going to do he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: "Wingardium Leviosa!"**

"I thought you didn't know how to do that spell," Remus said.

"Well apparently I can do it when lives are on the line." Ron shrugged.

"Adrenaline rush" Lily explained, "You would be amazed at how much you can do when put on the spot."

**The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned slowly over — and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto its owner's head. The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble.**

**Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. R**

"Ron," Alice spoke, "You saved them!"

"I guess," Shrugged Ron. A few months ago he would have been talking himself up. It's amazing how much he had grown up recently.

**It was Hermione who spoke first.**

"**Is it — dead?"**

"**I don't think so," said Harry, "I think it's just been knocked out."**

**He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy gray glue.**

"Eww!" Everyone yelled.

"**Urgh — troll boogers."**

**He wiped it on the troll's trousers.**

**A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart.**

**Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and Harry. Harry had never seen her look so angry. **

Sirius snorted, "I'm positive we've seem her angrier."

"Hell we've made every teacher here angrier," James laughed.

"That's not true," argued Remus, "I don't think that you've made Dumbledore angry."

**Her lips were white. **

**Hopes of winning fifty points for Gryffindor faded quickly from Harry's mind.**

"**What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Harry looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"**

**Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look. Harry looked at the floor. He wished Ron would put his wand down.**

"I think my arm was frozen," Ron said. "I was in shock!"

**Then a small voice came out of the shadows.**

"**Please, Professor McGonagall — they were looking for me."**

"**Miss Granger!"**

**Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last.**

"**I went looking for the troll because I — I thought I could deal with it on my own — you know, because I've read all about them.**

"Hermione Granger lying to a teacher?" Neville said in fake shock.

"I didn't want them to get in trouble; it was very brave of them." Hermione said.

**Ron dropped his wand. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher?**

"**If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."**

**Harry and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them.**

Remus laughed, "I'm sure they were very convincing."

"**Well — in that case…" said Professor McGonagall, staring at the three of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"**

**Hermione hung her head. Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets.**

"It wasn't that shocking,"Hermione said.

"**Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."**

"I bet you felt awful!" Lily said, "I hate when I get in trouble."

"It was pretty bad, but I felt a little better knowing that I kept Ron and Harry out of trouble." Hermione replied.

**Hermione left.** **Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and Ron.**

"**Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."**

"5 POINTS?" James yelled, "That deserves at least 50! How many first years do you know that can take on a troll?"

"That is bloody ridiculous!" Agreed Sirius.

**They hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the troll, quite apart from anything else.**

"**We should have gotten more than ten points," Ron grumbled.**

"**Five, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's."**

"**Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind you, we did save her."**

"Goodness Ron, you just can't be nice to the poor girl can you?" Alice asked.

"That's just the way that Ron and Hermione are mum," Neville said.

"**She might not have needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with her," Harry reminded him.**

**They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.**

"**Pig snout," they said and entered.**

**The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said "Thanks," and hurried off to get plates.**

**But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. **

"Nothing like a troll to bring people together," Frank laughed.

**There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.**

"That is true," James said.

"So I guess we better get some sleep it's going on 3 in the morning." Lily exclaimed. Just like that another door appeared, there were now four bedrooms in the room of requirements. "I hate to sound like a prude but I don't think you boys should sleep in the same room as Hermione. I doubt your mother would approve of that Ron."

"That's okay mum, so where would you like us to sleep?" Harry responded.

"I'll take care of it," said James, "How about Alice, Hermione and Lily take the first room. Then the second room can go to Neville and Frank, the third to Remus, Sirius and Ron. That leaves the last room to me and Harry; any arguments?" When nobody argued they all began to go to their rooms.

The Golden trio remained seated, "Give us a minute please," said Harry.

The older generation and Neville nodded and continued to their rooms.

Ron looked at Hermione, "look I know that you said it was okay, but I'm so sorry 'Mione. I was a git, an immature little git and I never meant to hurt you."

Hermione hugged him, "Its okay, I know, we were different people back then. We were just kids."  
"Okay so, chances are that when we get in the rooms they are going to pound us with questions." Harry said, "Don't answer anything, and tell them they will have to wait to read. Also you guys are going to have to be a little more discrete. I'm sure that your interesting relationship will be a big part of this book. You have to keep them in suspense like I was." Harry said the last part sarcastically.

Hermione laughed, "Don't worry I spent 5 years acting like I didn't like him I think I can last a few days. Goodnight boys." With that Hermione went into the first room.

"Well mate, have fun getting to know your dad; night." Ron followed Hermiones lead and went into his room.

Harry was left all by himself; he didn't feel like going to bed yet. He wasn't looking forward to sharing a room with his dad. It's not that he didn't want to get to know him, he was just afraid that after all this was over he would miss his parents to much.

After sitting by himself for a few minutes he suddenly realized something. His father was sitting in the other room! He had waited for 17 years to talk to him, and here he was avoiding it. Sure he would miss them later, but it would be worth it. With that Harry got up and walked to his room.


	12. Chapter 11

Harry walked into the room preparing himself for the tough questions his father was sure ask. As he reached for the door knob the door was wrenched open, an over-excited James was standing in the entry way.

"Harry, come on in! What took you so long?"

Harry walked into the room, "Er.. Sorry me, Ron, and Hermione had to sort some things out."

"Ah, Okay, Sooo…. What happens? Is the dog guarding the stone? Is that git Snape after it? Why didn't you go to Remus or Sirius instead of the Dursley's? Do you ever really defeat Voldemort?" James took a deep breath as he finished.

"Sorry D..Dad I can't tell you. We decided that all of you will just have to find out through the book. Besides I probably couldn't tell you everything as well as the book is." Harry said. He turned to sit on the bed.

"But…but I'm your dad! I have to know what happens!" James said.

"Well, I'm here and alive can that be enough for now?" Harry asked.

"Fine," sighed James.

"I was actually hoping we could talk about you. I don't know all that much about you and mum." Harry said.

"That's great! I love talking about my Lily-flower!" Exclaimed James as he sat on the bed opposite Harry. "I can tell you tons of stuff!"

Harry and his dad talked for an hour before deciding that they should go to bed. As Harry lay down he smiled. He didn't understand how he got here but he was sure glad he did. Hopefully he could prevent the deaths of all the people he cared about.

The next morning everyone left their rooms to find an amazing meal that Lily cooked up. As they sat down to eat Hermione, Harry and Ron shared a look confirming that none of them gave away any information. The group of teenagers laughed and joked over breakfast, still amazed that they were all here. After breakfast was done, the dishes were vanished and the group sat down to begin the book again.

Hermione picked up the book to see which chapter was next. "Sirius you should read, I think you will like this chapter."

Sirius grabbed the book and cleared his throat.

**Chapter Eleven: Quidditch**

Sirius smiled, "Hermione, I'm going to LOVE this chapter!"

**As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy gray and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaverskin boots.**

**The Quidditch season had begun.**

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!" James began singing.

"Indeed it is Prongsy!" Said Sirius

**On Saturday, Harry would be playing in his first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin.**

Sirius stopped reading, "Those are always the best matches."

**If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second place in the house championship.**

**Hardly anyone had seen Harry play because Wood had decided that, as their secret weapon, Harry should be kept, well, secret. But the news that he was playing Seeker had leaked out somehow,** **and Harry didn't know which was worse — people telling him he'd be brilliant or people telling him they'd be running around underneath him holding a mattress.**

"How horrible," Lily exclaimed.

**It was really lucky that Harry now had Hermione as a friend. He didn't know how he'd have gotten through all his homework without her,**

"I don't think I would have made it past my second year without Hermione," Harry said.

Ron laughed, "I wouldn't have made it to second year."

Hermione blushed, "You boys would have been fine."

"I wouldn't have made it this far if it weren't for my moony-kins." Sirius said.

**what with all the last-minute Quidditch practice Wood was making them do. She had also lent him Quidditch Through the Ages, which turned out to be a very interesting read.**

**Harry learned that there were seven hundred ways of committing a Quidditch foul and that all of them had happened during a World Cup match in 1473; that Seekers were usually the smallest and fastest players, and that most serious Quidditch accidents seemed to happen to them; that although people rarely died playing Quidditch, referees had been known to vanish and turn up months later in the Sahara Desert.**

**Hermione had become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since Harry and Ron had saved her from the mountain troll, and she was much nicer for it.**

**The day before Harry's first Quidditch match the three of them were out in the freezing courtyard during break, and she had conjured them up a bright blue fire that could be carried around in a jam jar.**

"Wow," Remus said, "That is very impressive for a first year."

**They were standing with their backs to it, getting warm, when Snape crossed the yard. Harry noticed at once that Snape was limping. Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved closer together to block the fire from view; they were sure it wouldn't be allowed.**

"It's not," mumbled Lily.

**Unfortunately, something about their guilty faces caught Snape's eye. He limped over. He hadn't seen the fire, but he seemed to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway.**

"**What's that you've got there, Potter?"**

**It was Quidditch Through the Ages. Harry showed him.**

"**Library books are not to be taken outside the school," said Snape. "Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor."**

"**He's just made that rule up," Harry muttered angrily as Snape limped away. "Wonder what's wrong with his leg?"**

"**Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him," said Ron bitterly.**

"Me too," agreed Sirius.

**The Gryffindor common room was very noisy that evening. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat together next to a window. Hermione was checking Harry and Ron's Charms homework for them. She would never let them copy ("How will you learn?"), but by asking her to read it through, they got the right answers anyway.**

"'Hermione Granger: homework checker,' I should have had business cards made up." Hermione groaned.

**Harry felt restless. He wanted Quidditch Through the Ages back, to take his mind off his nerves about tomorrow. Why should he be afraid of Snape?**

"You shouldn't be afraid of that git," Frank said.

"Nobody should be afraid of that greasy, nosy, stupid ar…" Sirius was cut off by Lily smacking him. "My bad, nobody should be afraid of Severus."

**Getting up, he told Ron and Hermione he was going to ask Snape if he could have it.**

"**Better you than me," they said together, but Harry had an idea that Snape wouldn't refuse if there were other teachers listening.**

**He made his way down to the staffroom and knocked. There was no answer. He knocked again. Nothing.**

**Perhaps Snape had left the book in there? It was worth a try. He pushed the door ajar and peered inside – and a horrible scene met his eyes.**

**Snape and Filch were inside, alone.**

"I sense dirty things coming up," James said.

"James!" Shrieked Lily.

**Snape was holding his robes above his knees.**

"I was right, dirty!"

**One of his legs was bloody and mangled. Filch was handing Snape bandages.**

"**Blasted thing," Snape was saying. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"**

"Why was he even near that thing?" Alice asked.

**Harry tried to shut the door quietly, but —**

"That man has some seriously good hearing," murmured Neville.

"It's from years and years of being nosy," said Sirius

"**POTTER!"**

**Snape's face was twisted with fury as he dropped his robes quickly to hide his leg. Harry gulped.**

"**I just wondered if I could have my book back."**

"**GET OUT! OUT! "**

**Harry left, before Snape could take any more points from Gryffindor. He sprinted back upstairs.**

"**Did you get it?" Ron asked as Harry joined them. "What's the matter?"**

**In a low whisper, Harry told them what he'd seen.**

"**You know what this means?" he finished breathlessly. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Halloween! That's where he was going when we saw him — he's after whatever it's****guarding! And I'd bet my broomstick he let that troll in, to make a diversion!"**

"Harry!" James yelled, "Never! Never bet a broomstick!"

"Believe me it doesn't happen again," said Harry.

**Hermione's eyes were wide.**

"**No — he wouldn't," she said. "I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe."**

"**Honestly, Hermione, you think all teachers are saints or something," snapped Ron. "I'm with Harry. I wouldn't put anything past Snape. But what's he after? What's that dog guarding?"**

**Harry went to bed with his head buzzing with the same question. Neville was snoring loudly, but Harry couldn't sleep. He tried to empty his mind — he needed to sleep, he had to, he had his first Quidditch match in a few hours – but the expression on Snape's face when Harry had seen his leg wasn't easy to forget.**

"He knew he'd been caught. He also knew that if Harry were anything like his father he would figure out what was going on," Lily said.

**The next morning dawned very bright and cold. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match.**

"**You've got to eat some breakfast."**

"**I don't want anything."**

"Never skip breakfast, especially before a Quidditch match," Remus said to Harry.

"**Just a bit of toast," wheedled Hermione.**

"**I'm not hungry."**

**Harry felt terrible. In an hour's time he'd be walking onto the field.**

"**Harry, you need your strength," said Seamus Finnigan. "Seekers are always the ones who get clobbered by the other team."**

"You can always trust Seamus to make you worry," Neville said.

"**Thanks, Seamus," said Harry, watching Seamus pile ketchup on his sausages.**

**By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes.**

**Ron and Hermione joined Neville, Seamus, and Dean the West Ham fan up in the top row. As a surprise for Harry, they had painted a large banner on one of the sheets Scabbers had ruined.**

**It said Potter for President, and Dean, who was good at drawing, had done a large Gryffindor lion underneath. Then Hermione had performed a tricky little charm so that the paint flashed different colours.**

**Meanwhile, in the locker room, Harry and the rest of the team were changing into their scarlet Quidditch robes (Slytherin would be playing in green).**

"Green is an awful color," James whispered to himself.

**Wood cleared his throat for silence.**

"**Okay, men," he said.**

"**And women," said Chaser Angelina Johnson.**

"**And women," Wood agreed. "This is it."**

"**The big one," said Fred Weasley.**

"**The one we've all been waiting for," said George.**

"**We know Oliver's speech by heart," Fred told Harry, "we were on the team last year."**

"Really, a captain should say an inspiring speech! I spend hours writing mine out before games," James exclaimed.

"Only thing he actually works hard on," said Remus.

"**Shut up, you two," said Wood. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it."**

**He glared at them all as if to say, "Or else."**

"**Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you."**

**Harry followed Fred and George out of the locker room and, hoping his knees weren't going to give way, walked onto the field to loud cheers.**

**Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand.**

"**Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said, once they were all gathered around her.**

Sirius snorted, "Slytherin doesn't know how to play fair."

**Harry noticed that she seemed to be speaking particularly to the Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint, a sixth year. Harry thought Flint looked as if he had some troll blood in him.**

**Out of the corner of his eye he saw the fluttering banner high above, flashing Potter for President over the crowd. His heart skipped. He felt braver.**

"**Mount your brooms, please."**

**Harry clambered onto his Nimbus Two Thousand.**

**Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle.**

**Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air. They were off.**

"GO GRYFFINDOR!" James and Sirius screamed.

Lily covered her ears, "Is that necessary?"

"Just showing team spirit Lils," said Sirius

"**And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor — what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too —"\**

"I can't decide who was a better commentator, Luna or Lee." Said Ron.

"**JORDAN!"**

"**Sorry, Professor."**

**The Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor McGonagall.**

"**And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve — back to Johnson and — no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes — Flint flying like an eagle up there — he's going to sc— no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle — that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and — OUCH — that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger — Quaffle taken by the Slytherins — that's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger — sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which — nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes — she's really flying — dodges a speeding Bludger — the goal posts are ahead — come on, now, Angelina — Keeper Bletchley dives — misses — GRYFFINDORS SCORE!"**

James took a lap around the room to show his 'team spirit.'

**Gryffindor cheers filled the cold air, with howls and moans from the Slytherins.**

"**Budge up there, move along."**

"**Hagrid!"**

**Ron and Hermione squeezed together to give Hagrid enough space to join them.**

"**Bin watchin' from me hut," said Hagrid, patting a large pair of binoculars around his neck, "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"**

"**Nope," said Ron. "Harry hasn't had much to do yet."**

"**Kept outta trouble, though, that's somethin'," said Hagrid, raising his binoculars and peering****skyward at the speck that was Harry.**

**Way up above them, Harry was gliding over the game, squinting about for some sign of the Snitch. This was part of his and Wood's game plan.**

"**Keep out of the way until you catch sight of the Snitch," Wood had said. "We don't want you attacked before you have to be."**

"Have to be?" Screeched Lily. "Those beaters better do their job and guard him."

"Don't worry Lily, the Weasley twins know that they are doing." Neville said. The Golden Trio flinched at 'the Weasley twins' still not able to adjust to the fact that there no longer were any Weasley _twins. _

**When Angelina had scored, Harry had done a couple of loop-the-loops to let off his feelings. Now he was back to staring around for the Snitch. Once he caught sight of a flash of gold, but it was just a reflection from one of the Weasleys' wristwatches, and once a Bludger decided to come pelting his way, more like a cannonball than anything, but Harry dodged it and Fred Weasley came chasing after it.**

"**All right there, Harry?" he had time to yell, as he beat the Bludger furiously toward Marcus Flint.**

"**Slytherin in possession," Lee Jordan was saying, "Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Bell, and speeds toward the — wait a moment — was that the Snitch?"**

**A murmur ran through the crowd as Adrian Pucey dropped the Quaffle, too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of gold that had passed his left ear.**

**Harry saw it. In a great rush of excitement he dived downward after the streak of gold. Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs had seen it, too. Neck and neck they hurtled toward the Snitch — all the Chasers seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they hung in midair to watch.**

"Idiots," Sirius scoffed.

**Harry was faster than Higgs — he could see the little round ball, wings fluttering, darting up ahead — he put on an extra spurt of speed —**

**WHAM! A roar of rage echoed from the Gryffindors below — Marcus Flint had blocked Harry on purpose, and Harry's broom spun off course, Harry holding on for dear life.**

"That's not allowed!" screamed James.

"**Foul!" screamed the Gryffindors.**

**Madam Hooch spoke angrily to Flint and then ordered a free shot at the goal posts for Gryffindor. But in all the confusion, of course, the Golden Snitch had disappeared from sight again.**

**Down in the stands, Dean Thomas was yelling, "Send him off, ref! Red card!"**

"**What are you talking about, Dean?" said Ron.**

"**Red card!" said Dean furiously. "In football you get shown the red card and you're out of the game!"**

"**But this isn't football, Dean," Ron reminded him.**

**Hagrid, however, was on Dean's side.**

"**They oughta change the rules. Flint coulda knocked Harry outta the air."**

**Lee Jordan was finding it difficult not to take sides.**

"**So — after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating —"**

"I like this commentator," laughed Frank.

"**Jordan!" growled Professor McGonagall.**

"**I mean, after that open and revolting foul…"**

"**Jordan, I'm warning you—"**

"**All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinner, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."**

**It was as Harry dodged another Bludger, which went spinning dangerously past his head, that it happened. His broom gave a sudden, frightening lurch.**

The older generation tensed.

**For a split second, he thought he was going to fall. He gripped the broom tightly with both his hands and knees. He'd never felt anything like that.**

**It happened again. It was as though the broom was trying to buck him off.**

"The broom was… what?" Sirius said.

**But Nimbus Two Thousands did not suddenly decide to buck their riders off. Harry tried to turn back toward the Gryffindor goal-posts — he had half a mind to ask Wood to call time-out — and then he realized that his broom was completely out of his control. He couldn't turn it. He couldn't direct it at all. It was zigzagging through the air, and every now and then making violent swishing movements that almost unseated him.**

**Lee was still commentating.**

"**Slytherin in possession — Flint with the Quaffle — passes Spinnet — passes Bell — hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose — only joking, Professor — Slytherins score — A no…"**

**The Slytherins were cheering. No one seemed to have noticed that Harry's broom was behaving strangely. It was carrying him slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went.**

"**Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing," Hagrid mumbled. He stared through his binoculars. "If I didn' know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom… but he can't have…"**

**Suddenly, people were pointing up at Harry all over the stands. His broom had started to roll over and over, with him only just managing to hold on. Then the whole crowd gasped. Harry's broom had given a wild jerk and Harry swung off it.**

"Oh no!" Lily screamed.

The room was still and Sirius was having trouble getting the words to come out, his fear for his Godson taking over.

**He was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand.**

"**Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" Seamus whispered.**

"**Can't have," Hagrid said, his voice shaking. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic — no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand."**

**At these words, Hermione seized Hagrid's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Harry, she started looking frantically at the crowd.**

"**What are you doing?" moaned Ron, gray-faced.**

"**I knew it," Hermione gasped, "Snape — look."**

**Ron grabbed the binoculars. Snape was in the middle of the stands opposite them. He had his eyes fixed on Harry and was muttering nonstop under his breath.**

"No, it must be a..a..a coincidence," Lily muttered.

"That greasy git is cursing our son!" Yelled James.

"**He's doing something — jinxing the broom," said Hermione.**

"**What should we do?"**

"**Leave it to me."**

**Before Ron could say another word, Hermione had disappeared. Ron turned the binoculars back on Harry. His broom was vibrating so hard, it was almost impossible for him to hang on much longer. The whole crowd was on its feet, watching, terrified, as the Weasleys flew up to try and pull Harry safely onto one of their brooms, but it was no good – every time they got near him, the broom would jump higher still. They dropped lower and circled beneath him, obviously hoping to catch him if he fell.**

**Marcus Flint seized the Quaffle and scored five times without anyone noticing.**

Remus muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'asshole.'

"**Come on, Hermione," Ron muttered desperately.**

**Hermione had fought her way across to the stand where Snape stood, and was now racing along the row behind him; she didn't even stop to say sorry as she knocked Professor Quirrell headfirst into the row in front.**

**Reaching Snape, she crouched down, pulled out her wand, and whispered a few, well-chosen words. Bright blue flames shot from her wand onto the hem of Snape's robes.**

Despite the tense situation the Marauder's managed to smirk.

**It took perhaps thirty seconds for Snape to realize that he was on fire. A sudden yelp told her she had done her job. Scooping the fire off him into a little jar in her pocket, she scrambled back along the row — Snape would never know what had happened.**

"As greasy as he is I'm surprised he didn't totally go up in flames," Sirius said

**It was enough. Up in the air, Harry was suddenly able to clamber back on to his broom.**

"Oh thank God," Lily sobbed.

"**Neville, you can look!" Ron said. Neville had been sobbing into Hagrid's jacket for the last five minutes.**

Ron snorted and Neville hit him, "I was eleven and worried about my friend!"

Alice hugged Neville close, "You sweet boy!"

**Harry was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick — he hit the field on all fours — coughed — and something gold fell into his hand.**

"Merlin!" James exclaimed.

"**I've got the Snitch!" he shouted, waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion.**

The older generation looked at Harry muttering things like "Wow", and "That's pretty impressive."

"**He didn't catch it, he nearly swallowed it," Flint was still howling twenty minutes later, but it made no difference — Harry hadn't broken any rules and Lee Jordan was still happily shouting the results — Gryffindor had won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty. Harry heard none of this, though.**

**He was being made a cup of strong tea back in Hagrid's hut, with Ron and Hermione.**

"**It was Snape," Ron was explaining, "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you."**

"Maybe, maybe he was trying to save Harry," Lily shouted. Desperately searching for a way that meant her old friend didn't just try to kill her son.

"**Rubbish," said Hagrid, who hadn't heard a word of what had gone on next to him in the stands. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"**

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another, wondering what to tell him. Harry decided on the truth.**

"**I found out something about him," he told Hagrid. **

"That wouldn't be reason enough to attempt to kill you Harry," said Lily.

**"He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."**

**Hagrid dropped the teapot.**

"**How do you know about Fluffy?" he said.**

"I was right, It's Hagrid's dog!"

"**Fluffy?"**

"**Yeah — he's mine — bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year — I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the —"**

"Oh Hagrid," Alice giggled, "that man is horrible at keeping a secret."

"**Yes?" said Harry eagerly.**

"**Now, don't ask me anymore," said Hagrid gruffly. "That's top secret, that is."**

"**But Snape's trying to steal it."**

"**Rubbish," said Hagrid again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."**

"**So why did he just try and kill Harry?" cried Hermione.**

**The afternoon's events certainly seemed to have changed her mind about Snape.**

"**I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!"**

"**I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" said Hagrid hotly. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all three of yeh — yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel —"**

"Oh, I have a feeling he shouldn't have said that," Frank said.

"He really shouldn't have, of course it would spark our interest," Hermione said.

"**Aha!" said Harry, "so there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"**

**Hagrid looked furious with himself.**

"That's it!" exclaimed Sirius. "End of the chapter. Great match Harry, I can't wait to hear about other matches!"

"I knew you would be great at Quidditch," Said James. He was very obviously proud of his son. Harry smiled at this, there was nothing greater than his dad's approval.

"Maybe I should talk to Snape now, maybe I can change how things turn out!" Lily cried.

"Just wait 'til you hear everything before you start worrying Lily," Hermione said, "There is more to the story."

"Speaking of, let's get to the next chapter." Remus said.

"I'll read it," said Ron while he grabbed the book from Sirius.


	13. Chapter 12

**I'm not J.K Rowling, I don't own this book or its characters. **

**Chapter 12: The Mirror of Erised**

"Sounds awesome," said Sirius.

**Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban.**

The Golden trio and Neville nearly gasped at this. They now knew what was under that turban, and the fact that it was being hit with snowballs wasn't a good thing.

**The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver mail had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again. No one could wait for the holidays to start.**

**While the Gryffindor common room and the Great Hall had roaring fires, the drafty corridors had become icy and a bitter wind rattled the windows in the classrooms. Worst of all were Professor Snape's classes down in the dungeons, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons.**

"**I do feel so sorry," said Draco Malfoy, one Potions class, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."**

Sirius snorted, "I never go home and there's no reason to pity me!"

**He was looking over at Harry as he spoke.**

"I really don't like this kid," said Lily

**Crabbe and Goyle chuckled. Harry, who was measuring out powdered spine of lionfish, ignored them. Malfoy had been even more unpleasant than usual since the Quidditch match. Disgusted that the Slytherins had lost, he had tried to get everyone laughing at how a wide-mouthed tree frog would be replacing Harry as Seeker next.**

**Then he'd realized that nobody found this funny, because they were all so impressed at the way Harry had managed to stay on his bucking broomstick. So Malfoy, jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting Harry about having no proper family.**

**It was true that Harry wasn't going back to Privet Drive for Christmas. Professor McGonagall had come around the week before, making a list of students who would be staying for the holidays, and Harry had signed up at once. He didn't feel sorry for himself at all; this would probably be the best Christmas he'd ever had. Ron and his brothers were staying, too, because Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were going to Romania to visit Charlie.**

**When they left the dungeons at the end of Potions, they found a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Two enormous feet sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffing sound told them that Hagrid was behind it.**

"**Hi, Hagrid, want any help?" Ron asked, sticking his head through the branches.**

"**Nah, I'm all right, thanks, Ron."**

"**Would you mind moving out of the way?" came Malfoy's cold drawl from behind them. "Are****you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose — that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to."**

**Ron dived at Malfoy just as Snape came up the stairs.**

"I would have attacked him to," Said James.

"**WEASLEY!"**

**Ron let go of the front of Malfoy's robes.**

"**He was provoked, Professor Snape," said Hagrid, sticking his huge hairy face out from behind the tree. "Malfoy was insultin' his family."**

"**Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid," said Snape silkily. "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you."**

"Stupid, worthless, slimy little git! I just wanna walk out of this room and curse him!" Sirius jumped up and began pacing the room. "What was Dumbledore thinking making him a teacher? As if he could ever be fair to a Gryffindor. He doesn't ev…"

"Sirius, it's okay," Ron said. "It was seven years ago."

"Seven years ago or yesterday the guy is still a worthless piece of…"

"Stop!" Lily yelled, "Enough, let it go Sirius. Ron, continue please."

**Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and smirking.**

"**I'll get him," said Ron, grinding his teeth at Malfoy's back, "one of these days, I'll get him —"**

"**I hate them both," said Harry, "Malfoy and Snape."**

"**Come on, cheer up, it's nearly Christmas," said Hagrid. "Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat."**

**So the three of them followed Hagrid and his tree off to the Great Hall, where Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations.**

"**Ah, Hagrid, the last tree — put it in the far corner, would you?"**

**The hall looked spectacular.**

Alice sighed, "It really is beautiful this time of year!"

**Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls, and no less than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles.**

"**How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked.**

"**Just one," said Hermione. "And that reminds me — Harry, Ron, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."**

"Ron in the library?" Neville says sarcastically. "That doesn't happen often."

"**Oh yeah, you're right," said Ron, tearing his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who had golden bubbles blossoming out of his wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree.**

"**The library?" said Hagrid, following them out of the hall. "Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?"**

"**Oh, we're not working," Harry told him brightly. "Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel we've been trying to find out who he is."**

"**You what?" Hagrid looked shocked. "Listen here — I've told yeh — drop it. It's nothin' to you what that dog's guardin'."**

"He really should have known they wouldn't let it go," said Remus.

"I know!" Hermione replied.

"**We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is, that's all," said Hermione.**

"**Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Harry added. "We must've been through hundreds of books already and we can't find him anywhere — just give us a hint — I know I've read his name somewhere."**

"**I'm sayin' nothin', said Hagrid flatly.**

"**Just have to find out for ourselves, then," said Ron, and they left Hagrid looking disgruntled and hurried off to the library.**

**They had indeed been searching books for Flamel's name ever since Hagrid had let it slip, because how else were they going to find out what Snape was trying to steal? The trouble was, it was very hard to know where to begin, not knowing what Flamel might have done to get himself into a book.**

**He wasn't in Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, or Notable Magical Names of Our Time; he was missing, too, from Important Modern Magical Discoveries, and A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry.**

"Nicholas Flamel is not exactly a recent person," Lily said, "I've read a little about him."

**And then, of course, there was the sheer size of the library; tens of thousands of books; thousands of shelves; hundreds of narrow rows.**

**Hermione took out a list of subjects and titles she had decided to search while Ron strode off down a row of books and started pulling them off the shelves at random.**

**Harry wandered over to the Restricted Section. He had been wondering for a while if Flamel wasn't somewhere in there. Unfortunately, you needed a specially signed note from one of the teachers to look in any of the restricted books, and he knew he'd never get one. These were the books containing powerful Dark Magic never taught at Hogwarts, and only read by older students studying advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts.**

"**What are you looking for, boy?"**

"**Nothing," said Harry.**

**Madam Pince the librarian brandished a feather duster at him.**

"**You'd better get out, then. Go on — out!"**

**Wishing he'd been a bit quicker at thinking up some story, Harry left the library. He, Ron, and Hermione had already agreed they'd better not ask Madam Pince where they could find Flamel. They were sure she'd be able to tell them, but they couldn't risk Snape hearing what they were up to.**

"Madam Pince doesn't exactly like first years, she probably wouldn't tell you," Remus said.

"We're 7th years and she still doesn't like us," Sirius said.

"Might have something to do with all the pranks you pull in there," Remus said, "She loves those books and you guys have nearly destroyed several."

**Harry waited outside in the corridor to see if the other two had found anything, but he wasn't very hopeful. They had been looking for two weeks, after all, but as they only had odd moments between lessons it wasn't surprising they'd found nothing. What they really needed was a nice long search without Madam Pince breathing down their necks.**

**Five minutes later, Ron and Hermione joined him, shaking their heads. They went off to lunch.**

"**You will keep looking while I'm away, won't you?" said Hermione. "And send me an owl if you find anything."**

"**And you could ask your parents if they know who Flamel is," said Ron. "It'd be safe to ask them."**

Ron groaned, "Was I really _that_ stupid?"

"Yes!" Hermione, Harry and Neville said.

"**Very safe, as they're both dentists," said Hermione.**

The older generation laughed, now understanding why Ron called himself stupid.

**Once the holidays had started, Ron and Harry were having too good a time to think much about Flamel.**

"You told me you spent all break looking!" Exclaimed Hermione.

"And you believed them?" Sirius said.

"Can't ask them to do anything! Stupid boys," muttered Hermione to herself.

**They had the dormitory to themselves and the common room was far emptier than usual, so they were able to get the good armchairs by the fire. They sat by the hour eating anything they could spear on a toasting fork — bread, English muffins, marshmallows — and plotting ways of getting Malfoy expelled, which were fun to talk about even if they wouldn't work.**

**Ron also started teaching Harry wizard chess. This was exactly like Muggle chess except that the figures were alive, which made it a lot like directing troops in battle. Ron's set was very old and battered. Like everything else he owned, it had once belonged to someone else in his family — in this case, his grandfather. However, old chessmen weren't a drawback at all. Ron knew them so well he never had trouble getting them to do what he wanted.**

"Didn't help that he's really good at wizards' chest either," Neville added.

**Harry played with chessmen Seamus Finnigan had lent him, and they didn't trust him at all. He wasn't a very good player yet and they kept shouting different bits of advice at him, which was confusing. "Don't send me there, can't you see his knight? Send him, we can afford to lose him."**

**On Christmas Eve, Harry went to bed looking forward to the next day for the food and the fun, but not expecting any presents at all.**

**When he woke early in the morning, however, the first thing he saw was a small pile of packages at the foot of his bed.**

"Oh thank goodness," said Lily.

"Blimey Harry did you forget you had friends?" asked Ron.

"I'd never had friends before," Harry replied.

"You poor thing," cooed Alice and Lily.

"**Happy Christmas," said Ron sleepily as Harry scrambled out of bed and pulled on his bathrobe.**

"**You, too," said Harry. "Will you look at this? I've got some presents!"**

"**What did you expect, turnips?" said Ron, turning to his own pile, which was a lot bigger than Harry's.**

**Harry picked up the top parcel. It was wrapped in thick brown paper and scrawled across it was To Harry, from Hagrid. Inside was a roughly cut wooden flute. Hagrid had obviously whittled it himself. Harry blew it — it sounded a bit like an owl.**

"I love Hagrid," Said James. He didn't say anything but he had also been worried about Harry getting gifts.

**A second, very small parcel contained a note.**

**We received your message and enclose your Christmas present. From Uncle Vernon and Aunt** **Petunia. Taped to the note was a fifty-pence piece.**

"**That's friendly," said Harry.**

**Ron was fascinated by the fifty pence.**

"**Weird!" he said, 'What a shape! This is money?"**

"**You can keep it," said Harry, laughing at how pleased Ron was. "Hagrid and my aunt and uncle — so who sent these?"**

"**I think I know who that one's from," said Ron, turning a bit pink and pointing to a very lumpy parcel. "My mom. I told her you didn't expect any presents and — oh, no," he groaned, "she's made you a Weasley sweater."**

"I really like that woman!" said Lily.

**Harry had torn open the parcel to find a thick, hand-knitted sweater in emerald green and a large box of homemade fudge.**

Lily was in tears, "I'm just so happy that you have someone to take care of you."

"She is one of the kindest women I have ever met," Hermione said.

"Mom just hated the thought that Harry was alone," Ron said, "She already has si… seven children so what's one or two more?"

"**Every year she makes us a sweater," said Ron, unwrapping his own, "and mine's always maroon."**

"**That's really nice of her," said Harry, trying the fudge, which was very tasty.**

**His next present also contained candy — a large box of Chocolate Frogs from Hermione.**

**This only left one parcel. Harry picked it up and felt it. It was very light. He unwrapped it.**

**Something fluid and silvery gray went slithering to the floor where it lay in gleaming folds.**

James, Sirius and Remus exchanged looks "No way!"

**Ron gasped.**

"**I've heard of those," he said in a hushed voice, dropping the box of Every Flavour Beans he'd gotten from Hermione.**

"**If that's what I think it is — they're really rare, and really valuable."**

"**What is it?"**

**Harry picked the shining, silvery cloth off the floor. It was strange to the touch, like water woven into material.**

"**It's an invisibility cloak," said Ron, a look of awe on his face. "I'm sure it is — try it on."**

Alice and Frank gasped. They were the only ones in the room who didn't know about James' cloak.

**Harry threw the cloak around his shoulders and Ron gave a yell.**

"**It is! Look down!"**

**Harry looked down at his feet, but they were gone. He dashed to the mirror. Sure enough, his reflection looked back at him, just his head suspended in midair, his body completely invisible.**

"I still wasn't that used to magic, so that was pretty damn scary," said Harry

**He pulled the cloak over his head and his reflection vanished completely.**

"**There's a note!" said Ron suddenly. "A note fell out of it!"**

**Harry pulled off the cloak and seized the letter. Written in narrow, loopy writing he had never seen before were the following words:**

**Your father left this in my possession before he died.**

**It is time it was returned to you.**

**Use it well.**

**A Very Happy Christmas to you.**

**There was no signature. **

"Has to be Dumbledore," said James, "It sounds like his writing, and he is the only person they've mentioned that I would trust with it."

"HEY! They mentioned me! You wouldn't trust me with it?" Yelled Sirius.

"Oh hush Sirius," exclaimed Lily, "You were mentioned once, barely. James would trust you with his life of course he would trust you with that silly old cloak." After Sirius sat back in his seat Lily continued. "I also believe that it is Dumbledore, however I would like to know why he gave my eleven year old son the power of invisibility! That is very irresponsible!"

"I agree," said Hermione, "Or I did at the time, it has come in handy over the years."

"Wait, wait, wait," blurted Frank. "You have a cloak of invisibility?"

Without saying a word James ran into his temporary room. After some loud banging and crashing, the door slammed open to an empty room. Everybody looked around waiting for James to pop up.

"Ah!" Squeaked Alice as James appeared in front of her.

He smirked, "To answer your question, yes I have an invisibility cloak." He held the cloak out for Frank and Alice to see. After Frank and Alice were done examining the cloak Ron continued.

**Harry stared at the note. Ron was admiring the cloak.**

"**I'd give anything for one of these," he said. "Anything. What's the matter?"**

"**Nothing," said Harry. He felt very strange. Who had sent the cloak? Had it really once belonged to his father?**

"Yep," James said with a ridiculous smile on his face.

**Before he could say or think anything else, the dormitory door was flung open and Fred and George Weasley bounded in. Harry stuffed the cloak quickly out of sight. He didn't feel like sharing it with anyone else yet.**

"Oh Prongsy think of the amazing pranks the twins would pull with that cloak," said Sirius.

"**Happy Christmas!"**

"**Hey, look — Harry's got a Weasley sweater, too!"**

**Fred and George were wearing blue sweaters, one with a large yellow F on it, the other a G.**

"**Harry's is better than ours, though," said Fred, holding up Harry's sweater. "She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family."**

"**Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George demanded. "Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm."**

"**I hate maroon," Ron moaned halfheartedly as he pulled it over his head.**

"**You haven't got a letter on yours," George observed. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid — we know we're called Gred and Forge."**

Sirius laughed as if it were the most hysterical thing he'd ever heard.

"**What's all this noise?"**

**Percy Weasley stuck his head through the door, looking disapproving. He had clearly gotten halfway through unwrapping his presents as he, too, carried a lumpy sweater over his arm, which Fred seized.**

"**P for prefect! Get it on, Percy, come on, we're all wearing ours, even Harry got one."**

"**I — don't — want —" said Percy thickly, as the twins forced the sweater over his head, knocking his glasses askew.**

"**And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either," said George. "Christmas is a time for family."**

**They frog-marched Percy from the room, his arms pinned to his side by his sweater.**

**Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce – and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table.**

**These fantastic party favors were nothing like the feeble Muggle ones the Dursleys usually bought, with their little plastic toys and their flimsy paper hats inside. Harry pulled a wizard cracker with Fred and it didn't just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a rear admiral's hat and several live, white mice. Up at the High Table, Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet, and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him.**

**Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Percy nearly broke his teeth on a silver sickle embedded in his slice. Harry watched Hagrid getting redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who, to Harry's amazement, giggled and blushed, her top hat lopsided.**

"Oy, I'd love to see that," Sirius laughed.

**When Harry finally left the table, he was laden down with a stack of things out of the crackers, including a pack of nonexplodable, luminous balloons, a Grow-Your-Own-Warts kit, and his own new wizard chess set. The white mice had disappeared and Harry had a nasty feeling they were going to end up as Mrs. Norris's Christmas dinner.**

**Harry and the Weasleys spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight on the grounds.**

**Then, cold, wet, and gasping for breath, they returned to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, where Harry broke in his new chess set by losing spectacularly to Ron. He suspected he wouldn't have lost so badly if Percy hadn't tried to help him so much.**

"Never take advice from Percy about games," Harry said.

"Well the stick in the mud probably never plays any games," answered James.

**After a meal of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and Christmas cake, everyone felt too full and sleepy to do much before bed except sit and watch Percy chase Fred and George all over Gryffindor tower because they'd stolen his prefect badge.**

**It had been Harry's best Christmas day ever. **

"You have had good Christmas' since then, haven't you Harry?" Lily asked.

"I have mum," Harry answered, "I've even spent a few Christmas' with the Weasleys."

**Yet something had been nagging at the back of his mind all day. Not until he climbed into bed was he free to think about it: the invisibility cloak and whoever had sent it.**

**Ron, full of turkey and cake and with nothing mysterious to bother him, fell asleep almost as soon as he'd drawn the curtains of his four-poster. Harry leaned over the side of his own bed and pulled the cloak out from under it.**

**His father's… this had been his father's. He let the material flow over his hands, smoother than silk, light as air. Use it well, the note had said.**

**He had to try it, now. He slipped out of bed and wrapped the cloak around himself. Looking down at his legs, he saw only moonlight and shadows. It was a very funny feeling.**

_**Use it well.**_

**Suddenly, Harry felt wide-awake. The whole of Hogwarts was open to him in this cloak. Excitement flooded through him as he stood there in the dark and silence. He could go anywhere in this, anywhere, and Filch would never know.**

Remus chuckled, "You are a lot like you're father."

James gleamed proudly.

**Ron grunted in his sleep. Should Harry wake him? Something held him back — his father's cloak — he felt that this time — the first time — he wanted to use it alone.**

"Gee! Thanks a lot," said Ron jokingly.

**He crept out of the dormitory, down the stairs, across the common room, and climbed through the portrait hole.**

"**Who's there?" squawked the Fat Lady. Harry said nothing. He walked quickly down the corridor.**

**Where should he go? He stopped, his heart racing, and thought. And then it came to him. The Restricted Section in the library.**

"It's your first time with an invisibility cloak and you go to the library?" Sirius said.

**He'd be able to read as long as he liked, as long as it took to find out who Flamel was.**

**He set off, drawing the invisibility cloak tight around him as he walked.**

**The library was pitch-black and very eerie. Harry lit a lamp to see his way along the rows of books. The lamp looked as if it was floating along in midair, and even though Harry could feel his arm supporting it, the sight gave him the creeps.**

**The Restricted Section was right at the back of the library. Stepping carefully over the rope that separated these books from the rest of the library, he held up his lamp to read the titles.**

**They didn't tell him much. Their peeling faded gold letters spelled words in languages Harry couldn't understand. Some had no title at all. One book had a dark stain on it that looked horribly like blood.**

"It was," said Remus. He knew Hogwarts' library like the back of his hand. There were books with human blood, elves blood, and even dragons' blood on them.

**The hairs on the back of Harry's neck prickled. Maybe he was imagining it, maybe not, but he thought a faint whispering was coming from the books, as though they knew someone was there who shouldn't be.**

**He had to start somewhere. Setting the lamp down carefully on the floor, he looked along the bottom shelf for an interesting looking book. A large black and silver volume caught his eye. He pulled it out with difficulty, because it was very heavy, and, balancing it on his knee, let it fall open.**

Lily groaned, "There's a reason those books are in the restricted section. You never know what you're going to get. Even books can be dangerous." The trio exchanged looks; they certainly knew how dangerous books can be. Nothing is more dangerous than a book with Voldemorts' memory trapped in it.

"Don't worry," said Hermione, "We learn that lesson rather quickly."

**A piercing, bloodcurdling shriek split the silence — the book was screaming! Harry snapped it shut, but the shriek went on and on, one high, unbroken, earsplitting note. He stumbled backward and knocked over his lamp, which went out at once. Panicking, he heard footsteps coming down the corridor outside — stuffing the shrieking book back on the shelf, he ran for it. He passed Filch in the doorway; Filch's pale, wild eyes looked straight through him, and Harry slipped under Filch's outstretched arm and streaked off up the corridor, the book's shrieks still ringing in his ears.**

**He came to a sudden halt in front of a tall suit of armor. He had been so busy getting away from the library, he hadn't paid attention to where he was going. Perhaps because it was dark, he didn't recognize where he was at all. There was a suit of armour near the kitchens, he knew, but he must be five floors above there.**

"**You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library Restricted Section."**

**Harry felt the blood drain out of his face. Wherever he was, Filch must know a shortcut, because his soft, greasy voice was getting nearer, and to his horror, it was Snape who replied,**"**The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."**

"You couldn't have two worse people looking for you," said Alice.

**Harry stood rooted to the spot as Filch and Snape came around the corner ahead. They couldn't see him, of course, but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much nearer they'd knock right into him — the cloak didn't stop him from being solid.**

"If only it did," said James.

**He backed away as quietly as he could. A door stood ajar to his left. It was his only hope. He squeezed through it, holding his breath, trying not to move it, and to his relief he managed to get inside the room without their noticing anything. They walked straight past, and Harry leaned against the wall, breathing deeply, listening to their footsteps dying away. That had been close, very close. It was a few seconds before he noticed anything about the room he had hidden in.**

"You never know what you will find when opening doors here," Sirius said.

**It looked like an unused classroom. The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls, and there was an upturned wastepaper basket – but propped against the wall facing him was something that didn't look as if it belonged there, something that looked as if someone had just put it there to keep it out of the way.**

**It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.**

Ron choked over the weird words. "Huh? How did I never notice the words? What language is that?"

"May I see the book?" asked Remus. Ron handed the book to Remus who studied it closely.

Everyone was silent as they stared at Remus, after a few moments he spoke. "Ah, I see."

Silence again as they stared at him, and then, "What! What do you see?" Sirius said while shaking Remus.

Remus lightly shoved Sirius away, "The words are in English, however, they are written backwards. It says, 'I show not your face but your hearts' desire.'"

The older generation and Neville sat in deep thought. Ron took the book back and began reading again.

**His panic fading now that there was no sound of Filch and Snape, Harry moved nearer to the mirror, wanting to look at himself but see no reflection again.**

**He stepped in front of it.**

**He had to clap his hands to his mouth to stop himself from screaming. He whirled around. His heart was pounding far more furiously than when the book had screamed — for he had seen not only himself in the mirror, but a whole crowd of people standing right behind him.**

**But the room was empty. Breathing very fast, he turned slowly back to the mirror.**

**There he was, reflected in it, white and scared-looking, and there, reflected behind him, were at least ten others. Harry looked over his shoulder — but still, no one was there. Or were they all invisible, too? Was he in fact in a room full of invisible people and this mirror's trick was that it reflected them, invisible or not?**

**He looked in the mirror again. A woman standing right behind his reflection was smiling at him and waving.**

"Oh!" Lily cried, understanding what her son saw.

**He reached out a hand and felt the air behind him. If she was really there, he'd touch her, their reflections were so close together, but he felt only air – she and the others existed only in the mirror.**

**She was a very pretty woman. She had dark red hair and her eyes —her eyes are just like mine, Harry thought, **

"Us," choked James, "you saw us?" Harry nodded.

**edging a little closer to the glass. Bright green — exactly the same shape, but then he noticed that she was crying; smiling, but crying at the same time. The tall, thin, black-haired man standing next to her put his arm around her. He wore glasses, and his hair was very untidy. It stuck up at the back, just as Harry's did.**

**Harry was so close to the mirror now that his nose was nearly touching that of his reflection.**

"**Mom?" he whispered. "Dad?"**

**They just looked at him, smiling. And slowly, Harry looked into the faces of the other people in the mirror, and saw other pairs of green eyes like his, other noses like his, even a little old man who looked as though he had Harry's knobbly knees — Harry was looking at his family, for the first time in his life.**

By this point Lily was sobbing uncontrollably while thinking of her poor son. Harry walked over to her and hugged her, after a few moments James joined them.

**The Potters smiled and waved at Harry and he stared hungrily back at them, his hands pressed flat against the glass as though he was hoping to fall right through it and reach them. He had a powerful kind of ache inside him, half joy, half terrible sadness.**

"I don't think this mirror is a good thing," Remus said sadly.

**How long he stood there, he didn't know. The reflections did not fade and he looked and looked until a distant noise brought him back to his senses. He couldn't stay here, he had to find his way back to bed. He tore his eyes away from his mother's face, whispered, "I'll come back," and hurried from the room.**

Lilys' cries turned to sniffles. She was eventually ready to talk again, "you shouldn't go back to the mirror. We're d..dead no mirror is going to change that."

"**You could have woken me up," said Ron, crossly.**

"**You can come tonight, I'm going back, I want to show you the mirror."**

"**I'd like to see your mom and dad," Ron said eagerly.**

Ron snorted, "Harry we really were stupid. Did we honestly think a mirror existed that only showed a persons' family?"

"**And I want to see all your family, all the Weasleys, you'll be able to show me your other brothers and everyone."**

"**You can see them any old time," said Ron. "Just come round my house this summer. Anyway, maybe it only shows dead people.**

"Emotional range of a teaspoon," Hermione muttered.

**Shame about not finding Flamel, though. Have some bacon or something, why aren't you eating anything?"**

**Harry couldn't eat. He had seen his parents and would be seeing them again tonight. He had almost forgotten about Flamel. It didn't seem very important anymore. Who cared what the three headed dog was guarding? What did it matter if Snape stole it, really?**

"Lily was right," Remus said, "That mirror is no good, it could make a person forget the present. Someone could go hungry and die just watching their desires in a reflection."

"**Are you all right?" said Ron. "You look odd."**

**What Harry feared most was that he might not be able to find the mirror room again. With Ron covered in the cloak, too, they had to walk much more slowly the next night. They tried retracing Harry's route from the library, wandering around the dark passageways for nearly an hour.**

"**I'm freezing," said Ron. "Let's forget it and go back."**

"**No!" Harry hissed. "I know it's here somewhere."**

**They passed the ghost of a tall witch gliding in the opposite direction, but saw no one else. just as Ron started moaning that his feet were dead with cold, Harry spotted the suit of armor.**

"**It's here — just here — yes!"**

**They pushed the door open. Harry dropped the cloak from around his shoulders and ran to the mirror.**

**There they were. His mother and father beamed at the sight of him.**

"**See?" Harry whispered.**

"**I can't see anything."**

"**Look! Look at them all… there are loads of them…"**

"**I can only see you."**

"**Look in it properly, go on, stand where I am."**

**Harry stepped aside, but with Ron in front of the mirror, he couldn't see his family anymore, just Ron in his paisley pajamas.**

**Ron, though, was staring transfixed at his image.**

"Oh blimey, I was a prat," muttered Ron.

"**Look at me!" he said.**

"**Can you see all your family standing around you?"**

"**No — I'm alone — but I'm different — I look older — and I'm head boy!"**

"**What?"**

"**I am — I'm wearing the badge like Bill used to — and I'm holding the house cup and the Quidditch cup — I'm Quidditch captain, too."**

**Ron tore his eyes away from this splendid sight to look excitedly at Harry.**

"**Do you think this mirror shows the future?"**

Everyone was laughing at the foolishness of eleven-year old Ron as eighteen year old Ron turned bright red.

"**How can it? All my family are dead — let me have another look —"**

"**You had it to yourself all last night, give me a bit more time."**

"**You're only holding the Quidditch cup, what's interesting about that? I want to see my parents."**

"**Don't push me —"**

**A sudden noise outside in the corridor put an end to their discussion.**

**They hadn't realized how loudly they had been talking.**

"**Quick!"**

**Ron threw the cloak back over them as the luminous eyes of Mrs. Norris came round the door. Ron and Harry stood quite still, both thinking the same thing — did the cloak work on cats?**

**After what seemed an age, she turned and left.**

"**This isn't safe — she might have gone for Filch, I bet she heard us. Come on."**

**And Ron pulled Harry out of the room.**

**The snow still hadn't melted the next morning.**

"**Want to play chess, Harry?" said Ron.**

"**No."**

"**Why don't we go down and visit Hagrid?"**

"**No… you go…"**

"**I know what you're thinking about, Harry, that mirror. Don't go back tonight."**

Hermione smiled at Ron, "I'm so proud of you!"

"**Why not?"**

"**I dunno, I've just got a bad feeling about it — and anyway, you've had too many close shaves already. Filch, Snape, and Mrs. Norris are wandering around. So what if they can't see you? What if they walk into you? What if you knock something over?"**

"**You sound like Hermione."**

"You make it sound like an insult," said Remus.

"Sorry 'Mione," said Harry.

"**I'm serious, Harry, don't go."**

**But Harry only had one thought in his head, which was to get back in front of the mirror, and Ron wasn't going to stop him.**

**That third night he found his way more quickly than before. He was walking so fast he knew he was making more noise than was wise, but he didn't meet anyone.**

**And there were his mother and father smiling at him again, and one of his grandfathers nodding happily. Harry sank down to sit on the floor in front of the mirror. There was nothing to stop him from staying here all night with his family. Nothing at all.**

**Except —**

"**So — back again, Harry?"**

"Bets! Bets! I bet its Dumbledore, any takers?" asked Sirius.

Frank snorted, "No way, I am betting against that, of course it's Dumbledore."

**Harry felt as though his insides had turned to ice. He looked behind him. Sitting on one of the desks by the wall was none other than Albus Dumbledore. Harry must have walked straight past him, so desperate to get to the mirror he hadn't noticed him.**

"**I — I didn't see you, sir."**

"**Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you," said Dumbledore, and Harry was relieved to see that he was smiling.**

"**So," said Dumbledore, slipping off the desk to sit on the floor with Harry, "you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."**

"**I didn't know it was called that, Sir."**

"**But I expect you've realized by now what it does?"**

"**It — well — it shows me my family —"**

"**And it showed your friend Ron himself as head boy."**

"Oy! How'd he know that?" Exclaimed Ron.

"Dumbledore knows everything," James said.

"**How did you know —?"**

"**I don't need a cloak to become invisible," said Dumbledore gently. **

"Well then what the hell did he want with my cloak?" Asked James

**"Now, can you think what the Mirror of Erised shows us all?"**

**Harry shook his head.**

"**Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?"**

**Harry thought. Then he said slowly, "It shows us what we want… whatever we want…"**

"**Yes and no," said Dumbledore quietly. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of all of them.**

Ron blushed at this statement. It had been true then, for most of his life he felt he was nothing in comparison to his brothers. Bill was brilliant, Charlie was a great Quidditch player, Percy was ridiculously smart, and Fred and George made sure they always stood out. There was nothing special about him. Over the past three years this had changed, he no longer felt in competition with his brothers. After all he had been through he knew that being 'overshadowed' by his brothers, was not a main concern. He had grown up in the last few years. Through the Horcruxes, death eaters, and dragons he had matured and realized there was no competition, no need for comparison. After everything his family had been through he wasn't worried about it anymore.

**However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible.**

"**The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now, why don't you put that admirable cloak back on and get off to bed?"**

**Harry stood up.**

"**Sir — Professor Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?"**

"**Obviously, you've just done so," Dumbledore smiled. "You may ask me one more thing, however."**

"**What do you see when you look in the mirror?"**

"**I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."**

Everyone laughed at this statement. That sounded exactly like Dumbledore.

**Harry stared.**

"**One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books."**

**It was only when he was back in bed that it struck Harry that Dumbledore might not have been quite truthful. But then, he thought, as he shoved Scabbers off his pillow, it had been quite a personal question.**

"And that's the end of the chapter," said Ron.


End file.
